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Re: What difference does it make?

Posted by david J burke on Sat Jul 06, 2002 03:24:11 PM

In reply top What difference does it make? posted by Karen on Sat Jul 06, 2002 08:42:44 AM

Karen - this poses many ethical questions. I live quite close to where the remains of the Lockerbie Pan Am Clipper are stored . It's a faily horrific sight especially when you see the U.S flag on the fin. Many would say that some of these parts should be retained as a memorial but my opinion is that they should go to the smelter and a new life as something else.
It's an unfortunate fact of life but we come into contact with things that have killed human's many times -
a musket or sword for example if it could talk would tell
some horrific tales . The same could be said of aeroplanes -
the are a number of warbirds under rebuild that have been involved in fatal crashes and as such have been 'coffin's'
for a few hours - the problem is who is going to object to the sale of one of these aircraft when it has been restored?
The facts of the case with your relative seem to indicate that the recovery or where the parts went afterwards wasn't strictly controlled - having said that would you have wished to have retained every thing or would you have seeked the items of particular interest.
What I am trying to say is that I am very much in favour of recovering the 'missing' and their machine's but we also need decide whether we retain in some cases substancial portion's of aircraft which have interest but in reality represent little interest to the families concerned. This doesn't mean sell the lumps - in some cases it would be a case of it going to the smelter - so it's very difficult to know what people want. The simple facts are that a throttle assembly bent by the force of a crash
tell's a very human story - unrecognisable bent and twisted
aluminium might not .

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