E&H, I agree with you 100% that the real issue of this thread is the lack of corrective action taken as soon as the design fault was discovered. In fairness to the company I was flying for at the time, they started the process of fitting the beta lock-out system immediately after becoming aware of the severity of the problem. I do not wish to go into the debate regarding airworthiness bulletins and directives. The message of my previous posting was purely intended as helpful advice to the up-coming young guy, or young lady, who one day may be faced with having to deal with a catastrophic outcome resulting from a shortfall in the system they work under or any other cause.
Not saying that this is how it happened, but I can see how easy it would be to inadvertently select beta in the Dash 8, given the situation: Hand over the power leavers, large positive G bump, followed rapidly by a severe negative G bump. The out of control fingers would only have to catch under those latches and the rest is history. Prior to the APNG accident, like most, I was blissfully unaware of that potential.