Not disagreeing that KLM Capt. van Zanten was wrong. The point is that they are not supposed to adversely effect safety and cockpit environment. It takes real

Not disagreeing that KLM Capt. van Zanten was wrong. The point is that they are not supposed to adversely effect safety and cockpit environment. It takes real leadership to encourage co-pilots/subborinates to raise operational issues in an appropriate way. Some reports indicate KLM Capt. van Zanten wasn't as overbearing as the official report said, but he still would have been somewhat intimidating due to his status, and the fact is that he had opportunity to take 15 seconds to confirm with the tower, and/or Pan Am 747, after the co-pilot pulled the throttles back. He didn't confirm, and a crash occurred. One very senior test pilot I know, commented that if a crew chief DID NOT ground abort them (usually before taxiing) because of a safety issue, or at least discuss the problem, and let them fly anyway, then the crew chief would be history. It would be considered dereliction of duty, and heading towards Article 15 Non-Judicial Punishment. Needless to say, it is not that uncommon for this senior pilot to ground abort, and the crew chiefs do their job.