Firstly I would like to ask that we try and keep this thread along the lines of procedures and technical issues. Whilst it is an emotionally tragic accident and many would like to offer their condolences, this is not the place to do it. Please feel free to start a condolences thread on the Aircrew Notices forum.
Secondly, I would like to point out that what I have seen so far in the media is once again biased reporting of distorted facts interspread with assumptions of blame based on whoever has the most effective press agent. Whilst we cannot prevent speculation as it is only human to do so and calls not to specualte on here will be fruitless, at least we can hope for some 'informed' specualtion and discussion on PPRuNe. Anyone posting what I or other admins consider to be frivolous, insulting and/or anything that just sounds like someone wanting to see their username on this thread will have them deleted.
As has already been mentioned in a few of the other posts and picked up on by the BBC is our questioning of the Swiss reports (and apparent conclusions) that it was purely pilot error on the part of the Russian crew. I too find it incredible that both aircraft were not at least put on radar vectors to assure separation as a prelude to issuing a descent request to the Tu154. Whlst I am not an expert, but having flown through that airspace more times than I care to remember, the standard of controlling is usually very high. If as has been stated that the STCA equipment was out of service why did the controller leave the request for a descent so late? Surely at that time of night when traffic is nowhere as busy wasn't the decision made earlier to descend or vector the traffic?
How many times, especially at night have any of us missed an initial call? It doesn't matter whetner the crew of the Tu154 were Russian because it can and has happened to just about every one of us at one time or another that we have missed a call from ATC. The mix of accents is one reason and there is nothing we can do about that but also there is the 'callsign' itself. If the Tu154 was not a regular in that airspace it is possible that its callsign was not familiar to ATC and the identifier on the strip bore no resemblance to the callsign familiar to the crew. Flying for a new airline myself I have missed calls that controllers have made because they assumed that the three letter identifier on the strip meant something totally different from our callsign.
After a thorough investigation we will all be wiser and have learnt something from this tragedy but as we all know it takes time. In the meantime we are free to discuss the issues here and hope that the media luvvies pick up on sensible debate and not their usual misinterpreted sensationalism and as we have seen today, premature blame. As in any air accident there will be a chain of events, any one of which could have prevented the disaster. Ultimately the pilots get the 'blame' because the media luvvies need a scapegoat in their usual 'dumbing down' of facts but as we all know it should come down to a distribution of responsibilities over a series of events and we should hopefully become safer in the future. A high price to pay unfortunately.