Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

          Best engineering analysis showed that a little bit of foam could
not have damaged the Columbia and caused it to burn up on re-entry. All the
data we had backed that up. If NASA had been in charge of the investigation
I am sure that would have been the results. But NASA wasn't.  To often one
a group is to close to the problem to properly investigate it. Also too often
there is a conflict of interest based on the very fact that they are put
in a position where they have to balance two conflicting positions. Of course
it has been determined by a independent committee with leadership with no
ax to grind or turf to protect that the foam that was written off early on
by NASA is one of the major contributing factors to the loss of life. 
 
 Maybe the vet committee is not the committe to perform this function. It 
seems that a strong horse welfare committee with input from the other committess 
and leadership from outside the BOD is the proper forum. Of course this horse 
welfare committe will have to be more than an "ad hoc" committee and it will 
have to have some authority. 
 
 It's time we stop sweeping horse deaths under the rug - hoping people will 
forget about them. 
 
 Truman
 
 Heidi Smith wrote:
 
>  
>  
> >      
> > If you are qualified to research
> > and submit the report, you are qualified to voice your opinions on the
> > subject, suggest solutions, make recommendations, etc, etc.
> >    
>    
>
> They did.  They didn't see that there were any specific things about
> management or vetting that would have saved these horses.  You don't happen
> to like that conclusion--but that was what they found.
>