Meering,
As I read the above article, the reference to 'flap' was not part of the Boeing quote.
Hicks,
'Control surface' would have been a better term, yes, but I don't agree that 'flap' will suffice. We often complain of the public's perception of things aviation but if we are going to feed them rubbish then what?
I didn't mean to imply that the reporter was implying possible pilot error. The 'they' I refer are the usual industry spokesmen, in this case Boeing, who find it convenient to keep the old 'pilot error' cause as a standby always.
Anyway, this is a side issue to the main thread here, but these issues always come up with these type of reports and I find it unnecessary and misleading.