That's the way to improve things..string them up, no need for further questions....but that improves safety for the rest of us who operate into "big" airports with multiple runways how, exactly? We know they stuffed up, they I'm sure know they stuffed up. I'm probably a bit of a soft old liberal but personally at the very least before firing them (if you must) I'd like to know why they didn't see the Gorilla, so I don't miss it the darned thing the next time I go into the likes of SFO...........[/QUOTE]
How to express this clearly. The pilot is responsible for the safety of the lives of the passengers on the flight. If as a pilot you accept this responsibility you are duty bound to ensure (as much as you can) that the other people do not die or are not harmed. This is an absolute. If the pilot stuffs up others die. Passengers trust the pilot not to stuff up and have to be able to rely on the pilots ability. Liberal values have nothing to do with it - peoples lives matter more. SFO is a known quantity and how the AC crew lined up on a taxiway without noticing escapes me. It does not represent the basic professionalism that a passenger has the right to expect. The incident also could have led to the death of people in other aircraft. Summary dismissal is the only response in this situation.