Midnightspecial,
Thank you for your interesting response.
Your initial posting was short on detail, but you seemed to be making the suggestion that ALPA should be congratulated for denying the FAA access to the crew, until "representation could arrive". I did not wish to pick an argument with you, but felt that there were some circumstances where such "protectionism" could be detrimental.
In the UK, the police are not allowed to interview either a "suspect" or "victim", until they are deemed to be medically fit enough to participate in such a process, I had assumed that it was the same for interviews involving the FAA or AAIB(UK).
You will note that I said "If the crew are medically fit....", and I am more than happy to leave it to the local medical experts to decide this. It is interesting that you believe that the crew were on "powerful painkillers". Earlier reports had a Fedex spokesman saying they were being "..treated at a local hospital for minor injuries". In a later article they were described as in fair condition and "remarkably good shape". I tend to believe the latest AAI report which says that two crew did in fact receive serious injuries. Thankfully they have survived.
I am familiar with the procedures to check for the existence of an equipment problem, but they need to know what to look for in the first instance. My suggestion was just an example of several potential causes which I considered might not be discovered until the crew could be interviewed, the decoding of the various flight recorders taking some further time to complete.
Am I an airplane virgin? Sadly not a pilot, I am a regular and interested passenger, probably covering about 100K miles a year. As such, I put my faith in the infrastructure that exists to make each experience a safe and enjoyable one. I have never had to deal directly with either the FAA or AAIB, but have much respect for their position and professionalism.
I am sorry that you have had a bad experience with the FAA. Unfortunately there will always be exceptions who abuse the privilege of regulated enforcement, the most visible examples may be found in the conduct of a minority of the police! However, the process of investigation can only work if the majority support it.
You Americans have always made greater use of the "fifth amendment" than we have this side of the pond. By all means prevent someone from incriminating themselves, but don't do it in a way that makes it look as though the situation has deteriorated into an "us" and "them" confrontation.