HC,
Without kicking off the old argument about the S-92.....I submit that if the Crew had complied with their Checklist, and done what the Co-Pilot recommended twice to the Captain, that event would not have been what it was. We don't know how a controlled ditching in the sea state and weather (air and water Temps, sea state) would have turned out but it seem on the face of it....there would have been far less loss of life if any.
Just as in the recent North Sea events....that Crash uncovered some very serious issues in many different areas.
You are correct that if only S-92's had been the aircraft operating on the North Sea and all these things (or similar but different) had happened then it would the S-92 that would be in trouble.
The facts are it is not the 92....but is the SP family that is in the spotlight.
It is also the UK Operators that are in the spot light
The Oil Companies are in the Spotlight.
It is the UK CAA that is in the Spotlight.
It is EC that is in the spot light.
There is going to be a lot of squirming....finger pointing.....spinning....weaseling....and dropped shoulders before all this is over and done with. Not just on this latest tragedy....but on the entire situation.
You folks over there have gotten yourself into a pickle. I dare say, if a really intensive investigation were to be undertaken by a truly independent body....there would be plenty of mud stuck to all sorts of faces. I doubt there are "dirty hands" but I am certain there have been plenty of bad decisions made, lots of bad policies implemented, and now it is time to sort out the tangle.
The way the Chinook got killed by the Media and some of those involved in the Oil Patch was wrongheaded, misguided, and because it was allowed to happen....without anyone having the courage to tell it like it was.....now you get to see how it works on the SP family. Killing the SP Family of Aircraft will be just as wrong as it was for the Chinook.
Knowing the background of that debacle.....all I can say is "Karma is a real Bitch!" sometimes.