Good point Hipennine. A number of aircraft prangs are ascribed to 'must land itis' and similar terms to indicate that the schedule set down by mgmt MUST be adhered to.
In almost every big man-made disaster, it is usually not long before it emerges that someone (or some people) were warning of the danger a fair time beforehand. Two examples:
- The Shuttle Challenger failure on 28 January 1986 found:
NASA managers had known contractor Morton Thiokol's design of the SRBs contained a potentially catastrophic flaw in the O-rings since 1977, but failed to address it properly. They also disregarded warnings from engineers about the dangers of launching posed by the low temperatures of that morning and had failed in adequately reporting these technical concerns to their superiors.
- In London the Kings Cross station escalator fire of 18 November 1987 had been warned of by engineers in WRITING. No action had been taken.
London Underground were strongly criticised in the report for their attitude to fires underground, underestimating the hazard because no one had died in a fire. Staff were expected to send for the Fire Brigade only if the fire was out of control, dealing with it themselves if possible. Fires were called smouldering and staff had little or no training to deal with fires or evacuation.
Each can person must take their own decisions and live with them. I recall a personal conversation with Sir Hermann Bondi, KCB, FRS, an Austrian mathematician. Having experienced Nazism and got out in time, he said, "I come from a culture where no govt statement is believed - until it is categorically denied."
I prefer to let time be the judge of the 787, which will mature and be fine. One day.