Originally Posted by TopBunk
Exactly my point. I doubted that BA were the only ones EVER to make that mistake and hence questioned HOW and IF any previous instances were reviewed for severity and repeated occurrences by the authorities.
A distinction has to be drawn between the regulator and the airport operator. There is no denying that there were shortcomings that were attributed to the airport operator. The regulator on the other hand obviously accepted that there was a threat and highlighted this in a unambiguous way in the AIP for the benefit of the end user i.e. the pilot. For this to happen then I suspect that previous occurrences were not hidden from a wider audience, otherwise nothing would be published.
Another interesting question is how many BA pilots would have been aware of the previous incident at JNB? Not that one expects a pilot to trawl through years of ASR information prior to each flight. However previous errors made by colleagues can prove to be truly invaluable in preventing a similar occurrence. What is key is making such relevant information accessible and not hidden in amongst safety databases.