Originally Posted by
Northbeach
...powerful corporations and even nations have a vested interest in the outcome. It doesn't matter whether it is Boeing or Airbus; European Union or the United States.
I'm not sure that's much of a factor in this case to be honest. If we were talking about a new airliner that the manufacturer had bet the company - and by extension the aerospace industry of the host nation(s) to produce, then it might be a factor (although experience has shown that the truth tends to out in the end, just ask the former board of McDonnell-Douglas).
But we're not - the A330 is already a successful airliner. It has been flying for 20 years, recouped it's costs years ago and has been proven to be as safe as pretty much any contemporary airliner you care to name, safer than the previous generation to a noticeable degree - and a large majority of the pilots who fly it speak very highly of it. In terms of legal responsibility, Airbus are already partially in the frame because of the pitot tube issues - there's no question that they will shoulder some responsibility so there's nothing to be gained by hiding anything at this point.
IMO the reason that the data in the report cannot be entirely unexpurgated is not because of any nefarious desire to protect any of the players involved, because the French government is going to be on the hook to pay out either way. It is because the report should only deal with the factors relevant to the conduct of the flight - which this book seems to contravene. There is nothing to be gained scientifically or in terms of aircraft safety by publishing lurid details of how confused and scared the crew were in those last few minutes, and I think even those trying to argue for the release of raw FDR data would agree with me there.