CJ,
Totally agree with you - safety is and always should be paramount. Although with regard to damage we do have some idea from the BA009 incident of 1982 which you alluded to, namely sandblasting, turbine damage, etc.
I disagreed with your point re temperatures (as per Lompaseos post) as the temperature, and the type of ash, does have a very real effect due to the ash being able to melt and then re solidify.
I agreed with your point about sandblasting but stupidly (and rather embarrassingly) didn't think through my post before typing - my mistake, and I apologise.
It's been a very interesting day today and at the minute I'm not sure we'll be flying tomorrow yet either, but we cannot rush this. For all the stranded PAX I feel very sorry, for all the airlines losing money and handing money back, I also feel very sorry - this couldn't have come at a worse time for the industry, and I hope ALL operators survive this.
DW.