As a customer for the aviation industry's services rather than being involved and a professional metallurgist specialising in high alloy steels, I have had a life-long interest in accident investigation by the aviation industry and I am in no doubt the probable cause of this structural failure will be found. In the meantime we should be thankful that aircraft design, manufacture and crew training have combined to ensure there were no injuries or fatalities.
However, after hearing the latest news items this evening on the Australian media including statements by Qantas executives; I am concerned with the "spin-doctoring" that appears to be underway.
I had contact with the post-accident investigation of Australia's worst rail disaster at Granville NSW in 1977:
Granville rail disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The cause of the accident may be traced back to maintenance cost-cutting by Phillip Shirley; a British "expert" hired by the State Government to "improve" [i.e. significantly reduce the loss or even make a profit] the NSW railway system. Shirley effectively implemented a "bust and fix" maintenance policy and virtually eliminated scheduled preventative maintenance. It took a period of years before the effects of the cost-cutting on track maintenance became apparent. With an impeccable sense of timing, Shirley left the NSW railways not long before the Granville disaster and benefited from political interference in the subsequent inquiry to restrict the amount of blame placed on the Government for the disaster. The subsequent cost of fixing the neglect cost far more than the "savings" achieved by reducing maintenance.
I have a sense of "deja vue" about Qantas and I earnestly hope this incident will make Qantas management take a long, hard look at their maintenance practices, facilities and obligations. It is an old adage that those who ignore the lessons of history are condemned to repeat them. If I were a Qantas executive, I would not want to be seen as Qantas's "Phillip Shirley" and be a contributor to this airline losing its unique status in the aviation industry. From the perspective of a Qantas shareholder, protection of the company's reputation and standing should be the highest priority of the Board along with the long-term survival of the Company. I have grave reservations whether this is the case at the present time.