I am really interested to hear from all those folk who posted on here lambasting anyone who dared suggest that this whole exersize was an overreaction. Will they be strapping into their respective rides when they're next rostered even if the 'plume' is still floating about?? Just curious...
I will assume that everyone has been doing their job at NATS / CAA and trust their professional judgement. The damage on the F18 was real, and if there is no longer that risk in their judgement, let's proceed with caution.
There is far too much talk of conspiracy, incompetence or allegations of lack of decisionmaking on the thread. I would rather assume people did their jobs to keep us all safe until proven otherwise...rather than the contrary position that many seem to have taken of "let's fly until we find that we are wrecking engines"...
If the above is the attitude, then god help us. I wonder if World Airways has just incurred a $3.2m overhaul cost (a la NASA cost) for their short hop from Belgium to Maastricht today. Fools.
Ella:
I am more than happy to take to the skies with passengers on board, and would have done so from day one.
Are you being disingenuous? Finnish Air Force, USAF, and presumably the ash-covered Scottish Search & Rescue helicopter have all proven that there was a real danger at some point on Day 1. Would you like to fly 200km downwind of the volcano? Of course not.