You are absolutely right - there but for the grace of God go I....
But...I was once upon a time responsible for Cat 3 ILSs at a major UK airport. Everytime that we worked on the equipment (you will be glad to know!) we followed a
strict protocol so that we never left the electronic equivalent of a 'spanner in the works' and the next fully laden 747 could use the equipment to descend to minimums in the fog without a shadow of a doubt as to the integrity of the ILS system. We were
disciplined engineers...
After we have all learnt the nitty gritty of manhandling aeroplanes around the sky, it all becomes relatively hum drum and we can be lulled into thinking that every day is routine and we can skip the notam reading and weather info.... we've all done it.. I know I have..
Whether the crew in this instance did or did not read the notams or take them into account, we should, as
disciplined professional pilots, make a mental note to ensure that we do tighten up our
discipline in this area.
That, after all, is the reason for the sharing of this sort of information.
