-=> JEAN PARROT wrote to WAYNE CHIRNSIDE <=-

 JP>       Hello, Wayne, it is a great day here.

 WC> Naybe they should fly one engineer from the program on the shuttle
 WC> on a rotation basis just to inspire them to do a better job of
 WC> thinking things through and speaking up?

 JP>         Line pilots have been regulated out of initiative. In some
 JP> cases
 JP>         it is a good thing. But still nowadays, accident are 99.99%
 JP>         pilot error. The machines are fantastic. So is the Shuttle.
 JP>         These guys were doomed from lift-off.

Because engineering concerns were looked down on 
by the upper level managers. They rescued  Apollo 13 they could
have rescued Columbia.  A space walk could have been done,
a saftey line could have been kludged together, MilSat observation
of the shuttle was ordered than canceled and that may have revealed the
damage.
The Russians could have launched,
the retroburn fuel could have adjusted the orbit to meet up with the
space station saving the crew but likely losing Columbia 
unless some Buck Rogers in flight refueling could be rigged,
my opinion too dangerous to try that.
Engineers should have saved both shuttles and engineering shortcuts
driven by the politically driven race to the moon killed the 
Apollo 1 crew on the ground :-(
JMO but I'm sticking to it!
 
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