In my view, this incident can in no way be classified as serious. The crew was never under any time pressure and the control of the aircraft was never in doubt. However, equally, that is just the reason that I consider it an ideal example for study as it falls into the category of everyday line operation. It could happen to any aircraft, with any crew at any time during any take-off. It is only by studying such incidents in depth that we are able to monitor our operational philosophies and procedures with the aim of confirming their viability of perceiving a need to change. This case highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of a very young and relatively inexperienced crew. This lack of age and experience therefore places the standard of the training in the spotlight. Personally, I was extremely impressed with what they achieved and have been forced to re-evaluate my view of this combination of youth and lack of experience. The cabin crew age averaged 31 years and their experience just 6 years. Before the crew left the parking gate to return to the hotel, I insisted that they all view the damage that we had sustained. It was later fed back to me that a few had found my insistence to be somewhat macabre. For me there were two reasons for my decision; firstly I wanted them to see what can happen at anytime thus adding some reality to all the classroom and mock-up training and secondly, as they surveyed the damage, they could simultaneously gain confidence from seeing what they had experienced and survived. For the next time they will be older........and so much wiser.
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