Safety Case, do you honestly think that the guys in the cockpit that day 'thought it was alright to do what they did'? From listening to the tapes, they KNEW what they were doing was wrong fella. They knew it and carried on regardless. That is the real shame of this whole accident.
Are you really trying to say that the crew do not have the responsibility for the safety of the Pax and AC.
Any pilot who needs to be told that unimitaged, dangerous and reckless wazzing is not allowed should never be permitted access to a flying machine.
I do not accept that the culture in the RAF would support the behaviour of this pilot (though being ex Army it is tempting to do so) but I do think that the key to this issue lies in the outcome of the coroners case
No, I do not say that the crew did not have any reponsibility for the safety of the passengers and aircraft. They were the trigger that resulted in the accident. If this did not have this terrible outcome, they should have been sacked. That said, so should their managers.
Whether the crew thought it was allright to do what they did - I don't know.
My issue is that there seems to be (or was) a culture within the RAF that allows this kind of behaviour. This factor was one of the precursors to this accident. We all know that an accident is the result of many factors, and without this factor, the accident would most likely not have happened. Going after only the crew in this case, would not have prevented future mishaps. The latent problem would still be present.
I agree with most of what DB says, but I still am strongly against releasing CVR evidence to the public. I think his union agrees with me. It serves only to hide some of the important factors of this tragedy (maybe that is why it was released), and for some of the press, it is entertainment designed to sell.