It's closed on the basis that you can't substantiate your statement, but aren't prepared to admit that.

No, he's simply tired of corresponding with an... never mind! :(

No, he's simply tired of corresponding with an... never mind! :(

Thank you for your kind words Bill.This would have ended long ago if he'd had the been able to justify his orginal statement or had the character to admit that it was wrong.

Thank you for your kind words Bill.This would have ended long ago if he'd had the been able to justify his orginal statement or had the character to admit that it was wrong.

I only meant that in the sense that no one can long withstand an opponent with the tenacity of a bulldog. You've long ago demonstrated your ability to "win arguments by default" by simply wearing down your opponent via "bulldog argumentation..."The only evidence I've found so far does lend support to your position:France Country Reports on Human Rights PracticesBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2002March 31, 2003http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18365.htm

Workers, including civil servants, have the right to strike except when a strike threatens public safety.

But, it is an "old report" from the US Dept of State, so the law(s) may very well have changed by now.On a more recent note, it would appear that even if there were there such an anti-strike law, it has no pratical affect whatever:Air France strikes this summer's travel plans with a hard blow, Examiner.com, May 22, 2009http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4216013Apparently, "Striking IS the French national pastime." :(

Apparently, "Striking IS the French national pastime." :(It often seems that way. It can happen without much warning in Paris and interestingly, ends when they say it will. Can't speak for French law, but it can be an inconvience. On some trips I've experienced either all or some of the subway/bus drivers striking for a day or two. And in November 2007, 3 days before leaving for Paris, Air France Flight Attendents system wide went on strike. The purpose was to pressure management into renegotiating an agreement on salaries and working conditions that were to expire at the end of 2007. Created significant flight cancellation problems for their European operations and reduced their intercontinental operations as well . Up until the day of my flight I did not know if it would operate. It did. C'est la vie!BTW, the bimmer thread was interesting.Claude

Monty,When you did service in Oman, did you know a guy by the name of Ian Ord? He may been there later than you come to think about. But, will ask anyway.

Monty,When you did service in Oman, did you know a guy by the name of Ian Ord? He may been there later than you come to think about. But, will ask anyway.

Hi! Tom ,The name does sound familiar , but I can't put a face to the name though ! I served in the Sultanate of Oman from January 1975 to Christmas 1977 before moving to my next three year Contract in Abu Dhabi in January 1978 .Cheers ,MONTY.

I only meant that in the sense that no one can long withstand an opponent with the tenacity of a bulldog. You've long ago demonstrated your ability to "win arguments by default" by simply wearing down your opponent via "bulldog argumentation..."The only evidence I've found so far does lend support to your position:France Country Reports on Human Rights PracticesBureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor2002March 31, 2003http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18365.htmBut, it is an "old report" from the US Dept of State, so the law(s) may very well have changed by now.On a more recent note, it would appear that even if there were there such an anti-strike law, it has no pratical affect whatever:Air France strikes this summer's travel plans with a hard blow, Examiner.com, May 22, 2009http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4216013Apparently, "Striking IS the French national pastime." :(

In my initial response I posted a link to a news items that Air France pilots went on strike in November last year. No suggestions that it was against the law. Google also found reports of airline strikes in January this year though it was not clear if it was pilots or ground staff who were involved.

In my initial response I posted a link to a news items that Air France pilots went on strike in November last year. No suggestions that it was against the law. Google also found reports of airline strikes in January this year though it was not clear if it was pilots or ground staff who were involved.

Just SHUSH. Give him some respect. At least he has been working with planes before, and knows how airliners operate... You are coming off as an a**! People can do whatever they want. It is against the law to drink and drive, but still millions of people do it. Nothing is stopping them. No offense, but how do you live in life without ever being friendly. I think we should see how mgh is after a few "drinks", maybe a bit more calmer and not arguing every single post :(.My, you have some problems if you think everyone is not equal today. I think you should stop your foolishness or everybody knows what will happen. You will be "out at once".

Just SHUSH. Give him some respect. At least he has been working with planes before, and knows how airliners operate... You are coming off as an a**! People can do whatever they want. It is against the law to drink and drive, but still millions of people do it. Nothing is stopping them. No offense, but how do you live in life without ever being friendly. I think we should see how mgh is after a few "drinks", maybe a bit more calmer and not arguing every single post :( .My, you have some problems if you think everyone is not equal today. I think you should stop your foolishness or everybody knows what will happen. You will be "out at once".

It is irrelevant whether or not he has been working with planes before. He made a definitive, factual statement about French law.

Air France Pilots and Aircrew by French Law , are NOT allowed to strike.

Post #184I believed that to be false based on personal experience. I asked him to justify it and he didn't. A quick Google shows that Air France pilots can and do strike.Your point about people breaking drink driving laws is irrelevant - unless you are suggesting that there is a French law that Air France pilots are breaking?All people may or may not be equal but that is irrelevant here too - unless you believe that a false statement is equal to a true statement. These are discussions forums and would be pointless unless false statements are challenged.I suggest you refrain from making foolish threats until you are a moderator here.

Hi everybody,This topic is turning into a personal dispute between some folks here!!Let's get back into the subject that matters, that is the AF447 acident and listen to some other interesting people with interesting opinions, for exemple;http://planetalking.com/content/niki-lauda...d-flight-af-447Regards, Antonio Lapa Gomes

Hello,Interesting Lauda interview ...

According to Lauda, the pilot should have spotted a heavy thunderstorm on his radar and given it a wide berth.He said:

I tend to agree with the idea that the pilot flew through the storm either by choice or because he didn't know it was there. A pilot who flies through any storm takes a phenominal risk with the lives of the passengers. Many do it because of timetable pressures etc but not quite as many succeed. We may never know if this pilot chose to "risk it". Had he flown though a storm before and got away with it? Thus making him think it would be ok "this time!". The question remains though why did he, when there was ample space for him to divert around it. As did all the other flights!Think of the very worst stom you have ever encountered. Multiply it by at least ten and you have a tropical convergence storm. The airframe stands no chance whatsoever in that kind of weather. It WILL break up, come apart, what you will. If it were to turn out to be "pilot error" Air Chance will be brought to it's knees by law suit damages etc Just as PanAm and TWA were.

The Franch Bureau d'Enqu

Hello,

Why do we think we know better?

Methink .. we don't think we know better ... we simply "speculate" or formulate speculations..(already the tittle was a speculation as the souls number is 228 and not >200 :) )The BEA are also speculating on many hypothesis and theories .. but with better sources than ours and experts for analyse them :)That's ow humans act when they don't know.If not this thread will be the tittle and the post of OP:AirFrance A330 missing, >200 souls onboard flight AF447 from Rio to CDGAnd nothing under before one (optmistic) or two years when a hypothetic final report will be produced by the BEA .We are not officially involved .. so we don't share any acountabilities with the BEA or other parties.Each word write by the BEA it's official and can be used in any legal processus .. so they must be extremely prudents with what they says or write.Regards.Gus.

"According to Lauda, the pilot should have spotted a heavy thunderstorm on his radar and given it a wide berth.He said: “As a pilot, you can not be surprised by bad weather because it is plain to see on the radar.”

No, not always true. I mentioned early on in the thread that thunderstorms can explode in mere minutes from something looking perfectly innocent on Radar to storms of biblical proportions. Then there's also hitting an outflow boundary from a collapsing storm, which is not a feature always seen on radar.Yet another storm comes to mind, the famed Phoenix storm in August of '96. We went from calm, partly cloudy skies with storms on the fringe of the valley to a super cell with 115 mph+ winds in a matter of minutes. No sooner had I come home and pulled down the garage door, when I heard an odd banging sound outside. I looked outside thinking it was some kids, and saw mammatus in the sky, something I've never seen in Phoenix before or since. Being from the midwest, mammatus was often the precursor of violent weather. I got inside as the first sounds of thunder started becoming audible.Winds then rapidly soared upwards, visibility dropped to near zero, and I watched in stunned awe as my neighbors' roof shingles started to peel away in sheets. Mine was the only home on our street without some type of roof damage as it was sheltered by a well rooted tree. Overall damage approached 100 million dollars. We were without power the rest of the night, but were lucky--some nearby neighbors were without power for a week.Here is a link to more detail on that storm:http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/wrh/96TAs/TA9627/ta96-27.htmlAgain, another storm no one saw coming and had it appeared in the middle of the ocean, hundreds of miles from land, a pilot would have had few options. Once the storms had coalesced into the supercell that hit us, there was no safe air for a good fifty miles in all directions.-John