The more worrying issue is that the pilots saw fit not to report this. If an entire organisation can group together to hide this kind of thing, then accidents are bound to happen. There is a reason why these things are supposed to be reported and it is patently to make sure that efforts can be made to insure that it doesn't happen again. As for a reprimand for the pilot, I can't believe anyone said this. Flying planes is serious business and if he thinks that 50 years of safety experience is supposed to be thrown out of the window for his benefit then he is a complete idiot.

As for the safety on the MRT and Skytrain, they are indeed impressive in their efficiency. However, I know one of the people who installed the MRT, and he told me that the engineers had tried repeatedly to get

a. Longer testing periods and training for drivers
b. More safety lock outs on the controls (denied because of budgets)


I saw him about 10 days after the accident happened on the MRT, (it was not serious), and he was absolutely flabbergassted that a driver had even managed to do what he had done. He had managed to put the cars into neutral while having no power running to the cars. Obviously the cars started moving, but there was no power for the breaks. To have done this by accident was essentially impossible by accident.

He explained that in actuality, they could have built the entire system to run without drivers at all, but cost considerations and a sprinkle of national pride meant that there had to be drivers.

Straight after the crash he had to go to Bangkok to upgrade the lockouts which he had recommended from day one. He stated to me, the entire system was world class, and I think anyone who has travelled on the MRT would agree. He said the only weak link was the driver, which when one considers the type and level of person they may be wanting to employ for that job (marginally better paid than an English language secratery in Bangkok) explains the risks and pitfalls in running any mass transit system.

Ironically, pasenger numbers on the MRT plummeted after the accident, so maybe we have to thank the driver for making the entire experience of riding the MRT very pleasurable with plenty of seats available for lack of customers most of the time.