This has nothing to do with risk v reward, dumbing things down, lawyers, society being risk adverse, the media... choose your own sound bite. Nor for that matter being over emotive or outraged.
What has happened here is just depressing because it is becoming increasingly apparent that actually it wasn't for the lack of awareness of risk and there was already in existence actual regulation that could have applied or the very obvious intent of what should have been best practice.
Many involved in this process - including the regulator - have just strayed from professionally managed risk toward a point on a line that ultimately leads to getting away with uncontrolled recklessness. You can put the marker however far down that line you like but ultimately this time it led to people being killed as a direct result of a combination of inability to manage identified risk, apply and enforce current regulation and maintain a rigorous process and culture of safety that would be consistent with any other aviation activity.
An insight to the CAA's mindset was given at a recent meeting relevant to this type of activity. The very senior CAA representative was asked a question about how he should manage risk effectively at his airshow. His concern was that some risks were not always under his control - and he cited the situation where during the display days a host of local public residents set-up shop and opened their land to spectators and for the purposes of car parking, food stalls, etc.
Could the CAA give him some guidance? A reasonable question and one might think a sensible one to ask given recent events. You know what the response was?
The CAA guy laughed and said "you'd better speak to your lawyers".....
A grin and a flippant remark to allow him to move on and dodge any personal insight, activity or heaven forbid responsibility. That is the reality of the people who are the custodians of what we love and do.