I have to laugh at all the grandstanding in DC over this.

They grilled the CEO of the company about the well in question, and the media went nuts when the CEO didn't know the specifics involved with THAT well.

If they had the site engineer on the stand and he didn't know, there's a problem.

The CEO is probably an MBA or equivalent. Not an engineer, not a part of the drilling crew, he oversees the operations of BP on a global basis.

To make a military comparison, the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shouldn't be on the stand answering questions about the actions of a Lieutenant in charge of a platoon, and shouldn't be expected to know the details of what the Lieutenant was doing.