I have read more nonsense in "The Media" about the British Airways 747 that made the Los Angeles-to-England crossing on three engines than I can recall about most aviation "events." I long ago gave up on "media" when it comes to aviation reporting, but this one is leading a lot of pilots astray, and we're seeing something of a lynching.John Goglia, a highly respected former member of the NTSB, roasted the crew and the airline in Aviation International News (June 2005).My good friend and colleague Barry Schiff just did a column on the incident in AOPA Pilot (Nov. 2005). His central point about yielding command authority is valid, but I don't think it is correct in this case.From various media accounts, the FAA appears to have tried very hard to come up with some way to file a violation. As far as I know, they have not found a basis for such an action. The FAA's extreme haste to file a violation -- any violation -- was unseemly, in my opinion. I suspect the good FAA folks in that agency (and there are many) are more than a little embarrassed.With all due respect for all those fine folks, permit me to disagree.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/pelicans-perch-82-the-dreaded-three-engine-747