Probably time to put this thread to bed now. The Concorde accident revealed many other areas of concern regarding its operation by Air France; without doubt it ultimately crashed after departing controlled flight, but the causal factors were not restricted to alleged FOD alone, it would seem.
Others have suggested that commercial operators push the envelope of safety; if that is true, it is outrageous. Whilst commercial pressures exist, as we well know, the Captain, not a FE, not a maintenance worker and not a company bean counter, is the person who is ultimately responsible for the safe conduct of any flight. The Company might be considered to be part of the crew in the CRM process which exists to give the Captain the best advice and assistance in HIS/HER decision making - but it is NOT sitting in the driving seat.
Poor marketing might kill an airline; however, poor operations will certainly kill people.
[ 15 September 2001: Message edited by: BEagle ]