I've stayed out of this rehash....
In the end I have a relatively simple question.
At what point does a demonstrated lack of professionalism in a complex operating environment override any other relevant components of the accident.
AF maintenance was demonstrably unprofessional.
AF operations was demonstrably unprofessional.
AF PIC was demonstrably unprofessional.
AF flight engineer was demonstrably unprofessional.
You can argue that in reviewing this event in totality that AF demonstrated such a complete lack of professionalism in every aspect of it's operations that an accident of this type was unavoidable at some point regardless of the specific triggering event.
When you further recognize that specific sworn testimony from the fire fighters on hand does raise a level of doubt regarding the root cause and actual moment the fire started. Given that these individuals are specifically trained in observation and were in place specifically in case of this type of event I am amazed how easily there observations are dismissed by some.
In the end AF seems to have developed such significant cultural issues that its actual standard of performance much more closely resembles that of a 3rd world flag carrier then that of a "1st world" nation...