the de-icing fluid remains the problem
@ cldrvr:
I think that this is misleading. Maybe the Chellenger / Canadair Jet series aircraft are particularly sensitive to any contamination of frozen precip, and this remains to be taken a very close look at. The number of accidents / incidents with this type of airplane is worrying, to say the least.
But: there was a problem with the de-icing service at Almaty. It took the ground crew 3 attempts to bring a truck with a functioning spray nozzle. And looking at the actual weather that fateful night, applying nothing would probably have resulted in an uneventful takeoff.
I was told that a Swiss Global Express crew just recently (after the crash in Dec.) orderered de-icing there. Looking at his airplane in disbelief, the pilot saw ice hanging down from the stabilizer (like in those deep caves) after the de-icing crew was done. The ground crew also had applied the fluid from the trailing edge, because they said they couldn't get to it from the other side...
The fact, that Kasachstan is - sort of - sabotaging an independent accident investigation, could leave the impression that they have something to hide.
And to PBL:
I don't think that this tread is leading nowhere either. As long as the cause for this sad accident hasn't been found, nobody in the flying community can be sure, that a comparable scenario won't happen to them or their friend / colleague again.