I don't see this as trying to quiet dissent nearly so much as trying to inject some understanding into the fast-and-loose news coverage that seems to always fol

I don't see this as trying to quiet dissent nearly so much as trying to inject some understanding into the fast-and-loose news coverage that seems to always follow big disasters like this. He's basically arguing that people wait for the investigation results, rather than getting caught up in wild speculation - that it would be very bad if people soaked up all the misinformation that the news was spitting. Otherwise, I agree with your comment, and that it is great that the airline industry has focused so intently on removing every single failure mode they spot.