In the rush to establish culpability for the 1 July accident over Germany, we put everybody on the defensive and achieve little.
There are serious questions to be answered on air traffic management, planning and execution. A compelling case for a truly borderless, seamless ATC system, like that of the USA, will be made and that is good. It is time recent territorial disputes were a thing of the past.
One fact is inescapable, that the Russian Tu-154 crew were late in responding to a late ATC directive. Forty-four seconds is tight, but doable. Why did it take the Tu-154 crew 14s to respond?
David Connelly
Brussels, Belgium
Source: Flight International
