IMO there is a world of difference between not checking the cowl latches thoroughly on a quick turnaround, and not doing the same checks on the first flight of the day. Especially on an aircraft that has just come out of maintenance.
Is there a clue there?
Are we heading for yet another AAIB report focusing on maintenance?
Time will tell.
From the Hobbs report:
‘technical/maintenance failure’ emerged as the leading cause of airline accidents and fatalities, surpassing controlled flight into terrain, which had previously been the predominant cause of airline accidents.
According to former NTSB Board member John Goglia, deficient maintenance has been implicated in 7 of 14 recent airline accidents.
So is maintenance getting the same level of attention as CFIT did?
If cutting budget, manpower, spares, tools, inspectors, targetting occurrence reporters qualifies then I suppose yes.
But wouldn't crews prefer to be handed over a plane that is going to work?