I feel sorry for the SW pilots who went through the fence at Midway
last week. Now every edition of the local newspapers runs articles by
lawyers and journalists second-guessing every decision made on a
difficult approach - quartering tail wind, marginal visibility, fair
braking, short runway.
I'd sure hate to have my every flying decision subjected to this kind
of scrutiny.

We all would. Given the circumstances (little boy killed, worst storm in
recent years, etc.), the scruitny is warranted, in my opinion.

What bothers me is the lack of accuracy in the reporting. Just today the
Chicago media discovered that there is a 696 feet displaced threshold on 31C
and that their previous reporting of a 6,522 feet runway was incorrect.

Ultimately though, it's only the kids lawyers and retired pilots who are
doing the talking to the media, thus the news coverage will slant that way
until the NTSB releases its report.

Charles Oppermann
http://www.coppersoftware.com/

Southwest Airlines flight 1248 accident articles:
http://spaces.msn.com/members/chuckop/