Jackonicko, (copy BEagle!)
You seem to think that everything in commercial aviation is clear cut in black and white, but in reality there are many grey areas. Yes, of course we all strive for perfection and precision as professional crews (via the use of SOP's, operating limits etc.), but, sometimes, through no fault of our own, the chain of events and the "system" we have to operate in means that this is not quite attained from time to time. This is what safety margins are for....to ensure a SAFE operation under REAL WORLD CONDITIONS.
Where exactly did I state that the a/c was "several tonnes" overweight?? Bit of a journalistic exaggeration there. IF the a/c was 1.5 tonnes overweight, then I believe that this is only 0.8% of MTOW and 0.9% of RTOW. The rotation speed is typically around 160 kts, so even a 5 kt tailwind component will add a relatively short extra distance to the TO run, given the high acceleration rate of the Concorde aircraft.
Both of these factors are absorbed easily into the available performance margins. This is NOT a desirable scenario, but the a/c got airborne OK. The problems that caused the crash were totally seperate.
I have discussed the dreadful event with friends who have flown Concorde in service at BA, and they agree with my comments.
It is very easy to say the crew should have done this, or the crew shouldn't have done that, blah blah blah. I think that the crew played a fair hand with the cards that they were dealt, and you, mate, are in no position to offer respectable criticism.
Finally with reference to the technical knowledge of ATPL's, I can speak only as I find...Some good, some less so. It is adequate for the day to day normal operation but abnormal/emergency situations?? When our a/c have gone tech away from base the best thing that the pilots can do is go and sip coffee in the terminal cafeteria!! When certain pilots (especially on TV progs) start waxing lyrical about such and such part was wrong/missing/needed changing etc. then they are out of their depth. Sorry, but thats a FACT.