You make a great point! The tower is partially responsible for the mistake (if that is what happened).
Unfortunately, the final report will blame pilot error.
I thought the NTSB forms all had "pilot error" already filled in. :)
Seriously, I'm not a pilot, but I'm having trouble understanding how this mistake could be made, assuming there's proper signs at the taxiway/runway intersections, that they looked at the airport diagram during taxi, that the pilots actually looked at their gyro/compass, any number of other things. But we're humans, and we're fallible...and we'll have to wait for the NTSB to get to work to get to the bottom of it.
}:-)4
Everytime I attend an FAA Safety Seminar, the speaker (usually a controller) always mentions the fact that "If I screw up..., I feel bad but, at least I GO HOME..., YOU MAY NOT BE SO LUCKY!"
VERY TRUE!!!
"The tower is partially responsible for the mistake (if that is what happened)."
Question: If the Flight/Voice Recorders reveal that the Controller either instructed the pilot to use the wrong runway or confirmed to the pilot that the plane was on the correct runway (assuming the plane did use the wrong one), then would Pilot Error still be cited as the cause of the crash? (I know, silly question - the pilot is Captain of his ship and always 100% responsible for what happens.)
Controllers have to be very good at what they do - no margin for error. Same with pilots. The pilot may have forgotten "Reagan's Rule" - 'Trust, but verify!'
This is a terrible tragedy which, apparently, should not have happened. Prayers for all victims and their families.