Tuc
As always, wise words. However, you mention "elephants in the room"; the one "elephant in the room" that is often missed is the neccesity of 'getting the job done' with the equipment we are given. Reality is never perfect and sometimes we
have to use the substandard equipment/infrastructure and 'get the job done' whilst keeping the risks 'As Low As Reasonably Practicable' (ALARP). Sadly, we are starting to get to a place where we will never be able to do anything (just like the HSE allows no-one to use ladders to paint buildings with and use more expensive staging, towers, cherry pickers and scaffolding!).
Everything in moderation, consult wisely amongst real operators/users, understand/manage the risks and use common-sense and we won't go far wrong. However, it all boils down to how much risk is acceptable - in my book, within the more dangerous world of mil aviation, then this risk might be more than we like to think to 'get the job done' if it is operationally necessary.
LJ
