Even if Mr. Irwin had left the selector in manual, which he did not, it is a basic principle in aviation that an aircraft engineer is never responsible for configuring an aircraft for flight: this is the sole responsibility of the flight crew, as part of their pre-flight checks, and the ultimate responsibility rests with the captain.
Which is why they get paid the big bucks.
Having read the report posted by Chronus I can only conclude that, as usual, the engineer will be shafted again!
If I am ever put in the same position as Mr Irwin (Gawd forbid) I for one will have one thing to say to the AAIB...
"No Comment"
I am rapidly losing any faith I may have had in the justice system.
