LTD concern could be that IB was unsafe to fly from his perspective but I suppose that the IB crew had a better view from inside their plane better than LTD from inside his.
Somehow I doubt it. Looking through a dirty cabin window hardly gives you a great view of the wing. I would think that someone sitting high above the wing level in a 747 cockpit would have a much better view.
They also should have had somebody talking to them during pushback and startup (I usually have a ground engineer) that could have risen some concern if their wing was really covered in snow.
Unless your ground engineers have a 4 metre neck they can't see on top of the wing.
The IB crew, for a reason that could have been perfectly valid, like having already deiced their A340, didn't obey his advice, infuriating LTD.
You'd have to question the competence of the deicing crew if they managed to leave snow all over the top of the wings and yet there was none of the usual mess on the ground. My, that sounds almost like they hadn't deiced at all. I didn't here LTD getting infuriated in the radio (it's all there in the tapes), he sounds quite calm.
LTD comes here and spits poison over three fellow professionals, the herd follows suit with no clue of what really happened.
We've heard the tapes, thats a pretty good clue.
IF they really taxied and took-off covered in snow they deserve more training in winter operations,
Thats the first sensible thing you've written.
BUT we only have LTD words here, that's why I'm asking if they are to be considered reliable.
Perhaps you should ask yourself what LTD would have to gain by inventing the whole snow story and then telling the ATC authorities who will undoubtedly record the whole conversation. Nothing I can think of.