1. Yeah - I wondered if it was one of the ugly sisters too. Apparently from Malaysian and took over a year to iron out all the "squawks" after purchase. Mainly though I heard they have lower rated engines than other -400s so runways apparently look shorter from the pointy end on take off!
2. Re censorship of forums - agree that getting the full drum is better but I haven't been around here long enough to know what is likely to be "moderated" - might be offensive or unhelpfully negative stuff maybe?
3. I was unimpressed with the reporting on this incident, even on ABC (Australia) and wrote to ABC about it. They actually have run my email on their online opinion page and you can read it here if you care...
Opinion. ABC News Online
Dunno how long they stay up but it went up this morning, 29th July 08. I am an enthusiast and a mature-age student pilot on a 150 hour course so sorry to any pros who don't agree with my email - tried to keep it as factual as my experience allows. cheer John