I am amazed that PPRuNe has so many expert avio-vulcanologists on board, so permit me to ask you a few questions. I'm sorry it goes on a bit, but being stranded here in New York I've little else to do.
1. How far was Eric Moody from the Indonesian volcano when the total engine failure happened ? How far are London Heathrow southbound departures from the current volcano ?
2. On a related point, what was the atmospheric ppm concentration of ash in the Indonesian incident ? What is the current ppm concentration over London ?
3. Am I not correct that both the Indonesian incident and the KLM one in Alaska were both effectively visual with the volcano (although at night/in cloud) ?
4. At the time of the Indonesian, or the Alaskan incidents, why was all airspace from Japan to Australia, or between Japan and Seattle, not closed down ? How did Indonesian/Alaskan aviation manage to keep all their internal operations going, just rerouting appropriately, and why did they not experience engine or instrument failures ?
5. We have had many volcanoes before, what is different about this one ?
6. Why is it that when I went to Hawaii some years ago I could have actually taken a sightseeing flight around a volcano there; I recall there was just a Notam about turbulence and a possible rock through the windshield if you got too close.
7. Why is Russian aviation, as much downwind from the volcano as anywhere in Western Europe, continuing unaffected ? Why are they getting no engine issues ? (and before some clever clogs comes along and writes about rugged engines from Soviet times, the Tupolev etc fleets have pretty much disappeared now, the bulk of Russian commercial flying is by Airbus and Boeing).
And finally ......
I flew to London intending to return today but now some jobsworth has decided that they didnt have the power to change airspace after all so now no VFR movements in or out of the whole CI zone, while GA and commercial flights continue within the zone. This is just complete madness with regulations and ar** covering taking precedence over any real analysis of safety issues.
Should the Jobsworth who decided this, and has clearly no comprehension of handling a crisis, not be fired forthwith for gross incompetence and inability to serve their public, with no redundancy pay and no final salary pension ?