Originally Posted by
WillowRun 6-3
I'd like to be able to articulate a view which gives the AC crew some degree of credit for having flown the approach well enough - minus the misalignment obviously - so that the physical separation margin of error turned out to be enough. It might turn out to be shown that it was, mathematically and in terms of the physics of the situation, the minimum separation that could have existed, but we do not know that. And to be blunt, it can't really be said validly at this juncture, on the facts that are pretty much given, that the approach was operated in such a way so that what might have been a lower crossover of the threshold did not materialize. I sure can't say that, as much as I might want to.
But maybe there is another factor which should serve here to pull back on the reins dragging two fine aviator careers toward a rush to judgment. Specifically, that CVR content might have been pretty darn scary for the traveling public to hear. I have no idea what actually was on that segment. But it seems neither unrealistic nor unreasonable to include, as a possibility, that the segment no longer available was some pretty unnerved stuff. Now, that is not a reason for not preserving the CVR (double-duh!) in the eyes of the law. But before canards about ethics get taped to someone's jacket, should not reasonably possible mitigating factors be given their due?
The CVR is for the serious purpose of investigation. It is not for the public's entertainment. Only this crew could have preserved the tape.