"Greg Farris" wrote

Say that to the 130 souls who perished in the B-707 accident on takeoff
from
Paris' Orly airport, due to an out-of-trim condition.

It is really easy to sit back and say that the accident was easily
preventable, but in truth, it probably was easily preventable.

Problem number one, in the chain of the accident events, was the failure of
the trim motor.

Number two, was the failure of the flight crew to recognize that the trim
was not in the correct place.

Number three, and the final link in the chain, was the failure of the flight
crew to continue with the takeoff, when there was insufficient distance in
which to stop the aircraft.

If the takeoff had continued, the certification standards say that a
successful takeoff was still possible. In a fraction of a second, the
flight crew made the wrong choice, because there was not enough distance
remaining to successfully abort the takeoff.

They, and their charges, paid for the mistake with their lives. The final
link in the chain was not broken. Sad, but mistakes (pilot error) still
happen.
--
Jim in NC