Peenie Wallie

1. Only AAIB/NTSB investigators are qualified to determine what caused the crash. - First of all there will be the usual objections that the general public isn't qualified to speculate on the cause of the accident. Most people are too ignorant or too dumb to contribute to the analysis, etc. This is a charge that I see leveled here, and also on AirDisaster.com(RIP), AirLiners.net, JetPhotos.net, etc.

The problem is that this assertion misses the mark. It betrays a lack of understanding of how a complicated system regulates itself. It's the same argument people level against Wikipedia. If anyone can edit it, how can it possibly be accurate? But, the reality is that Wikipedia and bulletin board threads rely on the wisdom of crowds.

The “wisdom of the crowd” theory says that, even though some people will make incorrect statements, these will be corrected by others with more expertise in that particular area. I’d argue that the expertise on this forum is collectively as good as the expertise that the AAIB has at it’s disposal.

I fly every week (as a passenger) and have for nearly 20 years. So, I'm interested in the plane crash, but I don't pretend to know anything about planes. However, by following the discussions on four different bulletin boards, I've learned a lot since the BA038 accident.

I have changed my mind several times as I have read the various discussion groups. First, I thought they ran out of fuel. Then, I thought it was a software errors that shut down the FADEC engines. Then, I figured it was a sensor-related error. Right now, I’m leaning toward fuel waxing and/or fuel contaminants, possibly an incorrect fuel temperature because the sensor wasn’t in contact with the fuel.

But this is all OK. This is the normal way that these airplane crashes are solved. This is the same process that the AAIB/NTSB goes though behind closed doors. You come up with a theory, other people throw darts at it, and we get closer and closer to solving the riddle.

I haven't felt that I had anything to contribute, of course, so I've just read all of the posts up to this point. But, if something were posted that I knew to be wrong, then I'd have posted something. And there are LOTS of people like me out here, as demonstrated by the load on the servers. So, think about that. The forum is self correcting, because all of these people are out here reviewing the information, and posting only if something posted is incorrect.

It's a self-correcting system. This is how the “wisdom of crowds” works. It isn’t pretty, but it is very effective.

2. The data is private, sensitive, or confidential. - Data related to a plane crash should not be treated as private or privileged information. The information relating to a plane crash belongs in the public domain. It is in the public’s best interest to determine what caused any airline accident as quickly as possible, so that Airworthiness Directives can be issued to prevent similar accidents. Lives are at stake. Lives of flying passengers, and lives of people on the ground.

Certainly in a nanny-state like the UK where people are filmed 24/7, secure beneath the watchful eyes, one can’t expect any privacy. And if the citizens don’t have any privacy, then why on earth should the public be keeping anything from the citizens? What reason and what right have they to conceal plane crash data from the public? What good could it possibly serve? Unless they're trying to cover something up, then they should release the data. If they have nothing to hide, then the data should be made public and the sooner the better. This includes the interviews with the pilots. The FDR/CVR/QAR data...everything.

3. Because there is potential liability involved on behalf of Boeing, Rolls-Royce, or British Airways the data can’t be made public. - Although we have the right to speculate as to the causes of the accident, that’s all that we’re doing here is speculating. The AAIB will still obviously have the final say in determining what caused the accident. Obviously, the legal authority will still rest with them, and they will determine which parties (if any) are at fault and legally liable in the incident(s).

4. The pilot’s have a right to privacy. - The rights of the public should supersede the pilots' rights to privacy. They are, or should, be compelled to talk to the AAIB, and the information that they convey should be made available to the public. This is in the public’s best interest. You give up certain rights when you are responsible for public transportation. When people’s lives are in your hands, you can’t be drunk or stoned, so you have to consent to certain invasions of your privacy to guarantee the safety of the public. Here, in this case, we should say – “Look, if the plane crashes, you have to tell us what happened. That’s all there is too it. It’s too important.”

5. They would come to the wrong conclusion. - What's the worst that could happen? In the worst case scenario, the public might come to the wrong conclusion(s). So what? Then the AAIB and the NTSB can ignore them. The public is going to come to their own conclusions anyway. There are tons of people that think the moon landings were filmed in Arizona. That 9/11 was an inside job. The conspiracy theories will always exist, and the best way to counter them is to release all of the data and let the public come to their own conclusions.

6. There’s no benefit from making the data public. - There is a great benefit to releasing the data. Every day, 777's take off in Asia, fly across the arctic circle, and descend on CDA's to land in Europe and America. There has been no AD issued from this accident. The AAIB has not discovered the cause of the accident. Lives are at risk. The lives of pilots and passengers and people on the ground. The clock is ticking.

Finally, in closing - let me say - I'm not a pilot. I'm not an AAIB/NTSB investigator. I don't claim any airplane/airport expertise. So, please...don't try to pick apart what I've said by saying "the fuel temperature is not recorded on the FDR" or "he's wrong about the approach or the glideslope." Again, that's not my expertise. My expertise is in computers. The only thing I have to contribute to this forum is this suggestion for your consideration - that we would be way ahead of where we are now if we had all the data the AAIB has, and IMHO, that the world would be better off if the data was made public. There's no compelling reason that I can see that the data isn't made available to the public.

That's all I have to say on the matter. Let the insults begin.