Forgive the slight deviation... I know the hazmat suggestion is ONLY a theory at this stage.... but I have an interest (as someone who used to forward freight and always worried about something I sent being a link in a bad chain of events....)
In a situation such as this accident, IF a hazardous material was a major causal factor, how likely is it that they can trace it to a certain pallet/package/container? Is it all a matter of forensics (i.e. we found such and such a substance in X location) that is then matched to approximate locations on a manifest, that is, they can figure out who actually despatched/signed for the load from records, or is it all a guess at best?
Hope they get some answers as soon as possible, for the families. Intrigued by the varying reports of dumoing/not dumping fuel...
There were a couple of people I worked with who were a bit- ahem, "relaxed" about actually checking what they were sending... I emailed them some pictures/repors on Valujet.. funnilyenough they seemed a lot more detail oriented after that! It just sucks that our lives are so often left up to (inexperienced) others... e.g pax bringing on things they think are harmless, like the dude in SYD a few years back with a cabin bag full of fireworks!!!
