Thoughts of a Square Peg on a Round World: Too Much

Saturday, November 7, 2015

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported on some conjecture about the cause of the Russian airliner that crashed in Egypt last Saturday. The article begins:

"Russia’s top aviation official dismissed an assertion by the airline involved in a passenger jet crash in Egypt that pilot error and technical defects could be ruled out as causes."

Let me understand this more clearly. A passenger jet flying at about 30000 feet suddenly blows up and someone still thinks it might be due to an error by one of the pilots? What do you suppose happened? Did one of the pilots accidentally press the "Self Destruct" button?

Zazzy said...: I was listening to NPR the other day. At that time, Russia was admitting to a ground to air missile made by Russia, but no, surely not launched by Russian troops regarding the plane that was shot down over the Ukraine. Now this? I think it's sad for the families of all involved that people can't just take responsibility for their own mistakes and behaviors. I can't say that Russia is any better or worse than any other country about taking responsibility but no, pilot error doesn't seem to be a logical cause. Technical defects, I suppose, still need to be ruled out. Didn't one interview claim that the pilot had complained about the airplane on multiple occasions?; November 7, 2015 at 5:31 PM
Square Peg Guy said...: Yes, I read about the pilot complaints. I'd also read that the same plane had landed hard several years ago, hitting the tail first. The debris field seems to indicate that the tail section separated from the rest of the plane because the tail portion was not with the rest of the wreckage. But why did the tail separate?

Oh, I think a ground to air missile was later ruled out. The plane's altitude was 10,000 feet beyond the range of the type of weapons in that area.

Thanks for commenting!; November 7, 2015 at 6:46 PM

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