Basil,
Apologies. I'd interpreted you as saying that intuition was more important than procedure. You had seemed rather dismissive of the breaches of rules and regs by the Concorde crew that day, and seemed unwilling to condemn such lapses. Thank you for clarifying your position, which I now take to be that procedures and regulations are vital, compulsory and non-negotiable, but which may be interpreted with the benefeit of experience and intuition. I now assume that you wouldn't condone taking off overweight, but don't feel that it was all that relevant in this instance. If that's a useful summary of your position, then we agree, and I apologise for misunderstanding you.
(Edited to add that I'm an amatuer aviator, but, I hope, one with a professional attitude to airmanship!)
[ 16 September 2001: Message edited by: Jackonicko ]