|
Never before have federal safety officials concluded
so profusely that their engines were too unsafe to fly.
In fact, with something of a kamikaze fervour every
senior aviation official is announcing not only that
it's entirely possible that they were to blame for an
accident, but that there's absolutely no question that
their faulty, inadequate engines were to blame. In fact,
you get the impression you'd offend them if you were
to suggest otherwise.
But then one faulty engine is hardly going to dent US
confidence in security, or imbalance a nation already
living on its nerves.
One faulty engine is hardly going to deliver the final
blow to a fragile economic status just as it was showing
some signs of recovery.
One faulty engine isn't going to hammer the final nail
into airline travel.
One faulty engine isn't going to jeopardise faith in
an already tested presidency, and a beleaguered intelligence
service.
In Wall Street prices fell by 198 points in the immediate
aftermath of the Queens air tragedy, before bouncing
back later in the day upon the delivery of a verdict
that had been barely assessed before being made public.
But then the weight of impact was perhaps feared more
upon the insurers of this industry than it ever was
by any of those on the ground itself.
They assert with a queer, unfathomable relish that they
had discovered an 'unsafe condition' in the type of
engine that powered this kind of airliner a month or
so ago. In fact they suggest they had even started moving
toward tougher inspections.
This is a conundrum in itself. A month or so after the
most heinous airline disasters in the aviation history
- and already under scrutiny and pressure to close security
issues - they decide to defer closer inspection for
at least another two months in time. Do they seriously
expect us to believe this?
With consumer confidence already at an all time low,
is it even conceivable that they were prepared to take
further risks? Does this sound like American Airlines?
Wasn't insurance already becoming something of a delicate
and complex issue?
"The left engine that apparently failed in Monday's
crash had been overhauled recently, while the right
engine was due for an overhaul soon"
Well, okay, if you talking like that, my old man's a
banana.
"If we find out it is a tragic accident, everybody
will give a collective sigh of relief, which really
shows how much stress we're under since Sept. 11,''
said Darryl Jenkins, director of George Washington University's
Aviation Institute.
Now you're being straight with us, Darryl. Care to elaborate
on that one?
There's also really no point in mentioning the significance
of the day politically, or the measure of recent warnings
that made credible such another attack. So I'm prepared
to let that one slide. Nor is it worth mentioning the
fact that it has occurred at a less than ideal point
in the victory roll out of the US aided changes in Kabul.
I certainly wouldn't want to marr what was an otherwise
successful response to the September 11th attacks. I
- like everybody it would seem - like a nice clean story.
And besides, an attack such as this would have made
us all look less than credible. But like I say, I'll
let those things slide.
But why if it was a text-book designed, accident-about-to-happen,
was the captain of this doomed airliner unable to cope
with the emergency? Since the A300 can fly on only one
of it's two engines, why didn't this give this more
than qualified pilot enough time to put his well rehearsed
procedures into effect and land safely?
The answer is simple.
The plane up until the point of explosion was in perfect
working order; right up until the point that the bomb
exploded on the wing of the aircraft and set those dangerous
fuel tanks alight.
This isn't conspiracy theory. This isn't imagination.
These are entirely reasonable possibilities.
We might not want to believe it. We might not want what
seems to come next. But forewarned is at least forearmed.
And what's more, at least it's the truth.
And you know what? What's so much worse than not knowing
if it's the result of an accident or terrorist activity,
is not knowing safely or not whether your own elected
government are willing to cover it up.
American citizens deserve much better. The victims of
the World Trade disaster deserve much better. And yesterday's
victims most certainly deserve much better.
Don't know about you, but I think there's someone still
out there on the grassy-knoll. And what's more, the
gun's still smoking...
All our thoughts go out to those people involved
in the Queens Air Tragedy and our prayers for everyone
in New York.
Crud Magazine© 2001
|
