I was a postgraduate sociology student at the L.S.E. studying airline crew industrial relations at the time of the accident. I had begun to accumulate substantial evidence of severely disturbed and disharmonious relations between flight crew as a normal part of aviation at that time.
When a plane took off, an international flight crew might have a pilot in BALPA, a navigator in the MNAOA, an engineer in his association and cabin staff in at least two warring unions representing male staff on long term contracts and the other, representing female staff who were obliged to retire once wrinkles set about the age of 30.
Arguements were common on board, trade unionised staff wouldn't speak to the other at times and all that took place during an industrial dispute with weak management (claimed the flight staff). Not a happy situation for either passengers and crew.
Things have changed a lot since then, I'm very glad to say. As a result of the Staines disaster, all external observers were unofficially barred from contact with flight crew from BEA/BOAC. That ended my M.Sc. studies in the area - as a very trivial side effect of the disaster. I was all too glad I was able to walk away with my life ahead of me, while the participants of the disaster did not.
--paul.millar at ntlworld dotcom
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