is there any other aircraft in service in the world, that has not had problems?????
flying is inherently dangerous. i'm not saying for a second that we should just accept this, and get on with it, but at the same time, accidents happen, and as long as we learn from our mistakes, at least it's a little condolence for the families...
by "near misses", i take it you're referring to problems with refuelling, and not near misses... at the time the system was introduced, it was meant as a stopgap for the falklands. yes, it was a mistake, to take the refueling system for granted and to use it on a regular basis, but hey, as i've said, people make mistakes, they're human. i'm all for ensuring that the mistakes aren't repeated: as for people being implicated..... i'm sure it will mean a lot to some of the families, others just want to make sure that these people didn't die in vain....
As for learning from its' mistakes, what about the jet that diverted last week, spot the differnce between that one, and 230.... (tell you what..... i'll give you a clue. that one landed) tragedy no 2 prevented.... i'd call that a learning process
as for grounding the fleet for good, i'd like to see you say that to the hundreds of troops on the ground who rely on the battlefield asset we provide.... but then again, your comments make it sound like you're not particularly arsed about them. its not all about us crews, its about the force as a whole. i'm not saying for a second that 14 deaths is an acceptable loss, far from it, but grounding the fleet will cause many more deaths. think before you make such all encompassing commments...its not a 767 ferrying people to and from tenerife, its a battlefield assets that is saving lives, every minute it's airborne.