This aside, my main concerns relate to the NATS reaction to the programme. One of the messages that has emerged is one that I have heard from NATS before - "we've not had a major accident in 50 years so we must be safe".
I actually read this as "the report says there will be a midair every 20 years, we haven't had one for 50 so you can't take that report as gospel"
Working in ATC Training, as I do, I can assure you that we are in no way complacent about the risk of a midair
The fictional crash had 29 people killed on the ground. Please explain in full detail, giving examples, why this is unrealistic? As I already said, if it had been hundreds, people would have slated that too. By making the figure low, which IMO is perfectly plausible, the producers avoided some scaremongering
For example. When I lived in Heston (which is about 3 miles from Heathrow) I lived ina road 1/4 mile long with 200 houses in it. Average of 2 people per house, cold December evening most people will be at home. Two aircraft collide and come down leaving a three mile swathe of destruction...burning houses etc. I would suggest that most of the road would have been wiped out if the aircraft had it it...at least 100 killed on the ground. Hounslow and the surrounding area is very densley populated, unless by some miracle the wrecakge hit one of the park sin the area.
Impressive response by the emergency services...when the motorways get clogged, so does most of Hounslow Borough due to it having main arterial roads passing through.
All this considered, I would expect many more than 29 killed on the ground.
All in all, whilst a mid air collision is possible in the UK, this progarmme was so full of errors that it was nothing short of scare mongering.
Oh, and its not pepsi or coke - we are not allowed drinks in the ops room
Chips