PlasticPilot.net

When flight BA038 from Beijing to London crash-landed about 300 meters from runway in Heathrow, I immediately posted about it for three reasons:

1. Provide readers with information from various sources
2. Relay the number of the information line to any concerned person
3. Inform passengers about traffic in Heathrow

Since then, the buzz grew up, and as always in such cases a lot of self-appointed experts started to give their opinions. Some are even able to give conclusions on the sole basis of a picture ! No need to say what is the quality of such judgement.

What is even worse is the reaction of mainstream media ! Not only did they report the opinion of “unnammed airport workers”, and many other low quality sources. Moreover, some journalists registered on pilot forums and openly asked for the names of the crew members ! Sometimes I wonder if they realize the consequences their acts can have on other people’s lifes ! Do you remember Ueberlingen ?

Two airplanes collided over Lake Constance area, at the Swiss - German boundary, killing more than 71 persons including many chrildren. Some local media published the identity of the air traffic controller who was on duty at this moment.

Few weeks later, the controller got killed by the father of a victim. I don’t want to argue here about the factors, causes and responsibilities, nor about the murder and subsequent sentence. My point is that if the newspapers had not published the identity of the controller, he would probably still be alive.

The editor would certainly say that they did not published the full name. This is correct. They only published its surname, the first letter of his familly name, and the small town where he lived… And all of this for what ? More sales. The official reports are based on pilots reports, but they never include names for ovious reasons.

After such tragedies, one has to remain silent. It is the only acceptable attitude. Establishing the facts is a complex and long task, and this is why reports take years to get published. And once again, the sole purpose of investigation is to find out the causes and factors that lead to the accident. Not to define responsibilities. This is the task of justice, and certainly not of media.

For these reasons, you won’t find any additional information or rumors about the crash landing of the Boeing 777 of British Airways on this blog until the report will be published. Dot.