+1 Sean,
The problem, however, almost always comes down pride. Most pilots (students and experienced) that I have instructed with have a difficult time staying non-defensive when their safety margin on a pattern or landing is questioned.
Now extrapolate that out to a situation where there is a very public embarrassment and serious internal questioning of your pilot and decision-making skills, and it starts to become far more understandable that the wreckage we get tossed in the back of the barn and the pilots not want to talk about it until after it has become news. If you are dead, well I guess your ego statement would be accurate, but no surviving family members wants to hear RAS's comments and speculation about their now deceased idiot, nitwit, or whatever otherwise disrespectful term the peanut gallery musters up...If this forum can't respectfully debate whether to partially silence a radar for the spirit of competition, do you really trust them to professionally discuss a decision process that ended in fatality?

In my case (see Oct post), Getting over that first hurdle of internal analysis and self-reflection was the hardest step. Once over that step by discussions with a few very experienced and thoughtful mentors, the public analysis and discussion actually became very helpful and almost therapeutic in "getting over it."

I agree it is incredibly helpful and rare that accident data is shared, but the hardest decision I made during and after my accident was weighing safety and educational benefit with ridicule and reprisal by sharing the story and data on RAS. I am glad that I did, and have already given 2 safety presentations on the accident, but I fully understand why others would not.

Chris
(Formerly "MW")