One might consider the real world of practical pro's and con's before
deciding to leave the transponder off, in this case. If it could be
determined that the unit was in the ball park, with regards to location and
altitude reporting, it would have been far better to run it, and tell the
FAA to sit and rotate, if they asked. The end result would have been two
intact aircraft, and removal of the chance of people nearly dying.

In this particular case, in hindsight, perhaps. But in general, an
incorrect transponder readout could cause pilots to look in the wrong
place for traffic they would have otherwise seen right away, increasing
the risk of a collision. It would be a different accident; it would be
the one that didn't happen, so we'll never know whether it would have or
not. But it might, and that's the reason it's supposed to be off.

Jose
--
The monkey turns the crank and thinks he's making the music.
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