"- why in the 25+ years since the BA jet had its problems have the
airlines/engine manufacturers not undertaken the basic safety testing
required to determine what is and what isn't safe?"
They could argue that they have undertaken the basic safety testing required
to determine what is and what isn't safe.
This has not much to do with science in the media, but one answer could be
that the engine makers test their kit only for things that are laid down in
the law. If the law says a blade has to survive the impact of a 20-lb goose,
then they will throw geese into their engines to pass the certification
tests.
If the tests don't mention volcanic ash, why test? After all, you could test
for any number of unlikely things.
Then again they may have made tests with volcanic ash, although it is
probably harder to work out what to test than it is for bird strikes, but no
one has bothered to correlate the results because the regulators don't
require them.
These are the questions that a decent "science" journalist would pursue.
By the way, the original piece in the Telegraph may well have sidled into
the paper without going anywhere near a science exert. This is often where
errors sneak in.
_______________________________
Michael Kenward OBE
Have words will travel
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bruce Etherington
Sent: 26 April 2010 08:52
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] Reporting Science
I think the important thing about the whole tone of the Telegraph piece come
from the first sentence:
"[The Met Office] has been accused of using a scientific model based on
"probability" rather than fact to forecast the spread of the volcanic ash
cloud..."
Firstly, and on a purely grammatical/logical basis - the fact that it is a
forecast surely precludes fact anywhere other than as a starting point
Secondly, it raise interesting questions about the public acceptance of
occasions when the precautionary principle is applied to an area of
scientific doubt. To me this was clearly the right thing to do, there is a
general understanding that ash affects jet engines (see 1982 event) but
there is no tested limits at which safe flying becomnes unsafe.
I agree with Michael that much of the airlines responses are motivated by
commerical pressures (and possibly Political ones too) but a question I am
asking is - why in the 25+ years since the BA jet had its problems have the
airlines/engine manufacturers not undertaken the basic safety testing
required to determine what is and what isn't safe?
Bruce
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