On day one, they were, hence the time wasted looking for resonance issues etc. however it was eventually realised that the two events were not from the same cause, although from 2 very similar causes. The only thing I find surprising is how long it took to identify the corrosion from the wear sludge. You'd think you would extract the failed bits, wipe them clean and notice the corrosion, then check some other aircraft and find much less sludge and no corrosion, and voila!
We can all speculate all day (all year) on our pet theories (including conspiracy ones) but really we are all talking from positions of ignorance and personally I think its unlikely that AAIB, EASA and CAA would be acting as they are if the evidence wasn't convincing, and even EC must surely realise that they are in last chance saloon!
Last edited by HeliComparator; 14th Jul 2013 at 13:37.