Originally Posted by
ZDub
Ok, mea culpa, I did not see this posted on your original post, only the link to a story in the Dallas paper. I understand where you're coming from, but finish the quote from the above story....
"Chealander acknowledged that it was possible that the pilot overreacted by yanking the yoke back, further destabilizing the plane, but he said that was one of an almost unlimited number of possibilities."
That he acknowledged an overreaction leads me to believe that he was asked the question, rather than soapboxing his own opinion. Yes, he should have given the standard canned answer, "This is an ongoing investigation, I'm not able to comment". But, he didn't and also didn't go so far as to say that the NTSB is convinced it's pilot error.
Look, at the end of the day, none of this really matters. It may be in bad taste, and we may not like it, but it does nothing to change what actually happened up there. You're looking for the media to do someting that they rarely do, show restraint during a time of tragedy. Doesn't happen. These are the same people who treated us to photos of people jumping out of windows on 9/11. Take a breath, mourn, and do your best to protect the memories of the crew and pax from unwarrented, premature ridiclue. I'm sure that thier legacies will offer someting for all of us to learn from.
The flying public wants to know if the skies are safe from this new menace to aviation called ice, so they're glued to this. Fankly, I think that the media is doing a halfway decent job on this one. It could be a lot worse.
Look, there's no doubt that the media by nature will sensationalize things just to sell papers, or to get ratings, that's not the point.
The point here is that the media is now reporting on an ongoing investigation. Drawing conclusions without the data or the technical background to asses the circumstances surrounding the accident. Was the NTSB (or members of) responsible for fueling the fire? You bet! They have a duty to not disclose the information in any shape or form, even as opinion (in other words they have an obligation to shut the fukc up until the hearings).
It still doesn't make it right, and at the end of the day the damage to the image of all regional pilots is already done; this is really the big picture here. And what about the crew of said accident? I suppose you're right, expecting the media to honor someone's memory, is like expecting management to do the right thing for labor....it's probably not going to happen.
Bond