PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Best spin I have heard since Bill Clinton and the definition of "is"
Old 5th Feb 2010, 18:21
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js0987
 
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While everyone is still waiting on the cause of the Nigeria "incident," keep in mind that the difference between an "accident" and "incident" is very important to everyone concerned. By all appearences, the aircraft landed on the water and didn't "fly" into it. CFIT usually implies forward airspeed with subsequent damage to the aircraft. Looking at the evacuation video, it appears that, if the aircraft was written off, it would be the result of salt water contamination, not unrepairable structural damage.

For example, its common for single engine helicopters that suffer engine failures and make safe autorotations to the water to be concidered "incidents" and not "accidents" even though the boat that tries to tow the aircraft ends up sinking it.

Training schools also are given a bit of leeway on the definitions as well, otherwise everytime a student bent the skids or tore up the tail, schools would have horrible "accident" rates.

So, if BC wants to call it an "incident" then "incident" it is until someone can prove it was an "accident."
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