A Licensed Engineers view from the Independent
This is the second incident of this type I am aware of the first was with another operators aircraft on a flight within UK.
Reason everyone wants to fly for peanuts hence the European Aviation Safety Authority was set up and have taken control of maintenance from CAA.These people are accountants, lawyers and politicians hence they do the bidding of the highest payer IE Airlines and European aircraft manufacturers .
Maintenance standards have been totally eroded at the bequest of board rooms and the UK CAA has became a "paper tiger" .
This incident will be ignored and we will keep going in the same direction until such times as we kill people and not necessarily the first time we kill them either, it will have to wait until its spectacular over London or another major city then "lessons will have to be learned".
The lessons were learned on the railways in the 1890's and the 1920's learned again in 1912 on the Titanic learned through the 60's 70s,80s 90's in aviation with the American industry controlling its regulators and again in the UK with privatization of rail.
If you put profit and Ego before proper and correct maintenance in a business in which you carry passengers eventually you will kill people.
I am a Licensed aircraft Engineer for a UK Airline (not BA)and I fight this battle every day ensuring crew and passengers fly safely, I constantly battle against a board room who wish me to do it for less and with less people and they have the support of regulators NOT me.
By the way most probable reason for incident some over worked engineer left the latches securing the cowls open because he was rushed to go and do something else due to lack of staff.Reason for lack of staff to save money to pay professional gamblers in city dividends.