That would have been astronomically expensive given the enormous supply chain needed to produce charcoal to get that iron in those times.
I am sceptical on how they figured out iron stains are pothole fillings. I think much simpler explanation would be everyday items or metal pieces of carts getting stuck between stones.
(Also consider that the principal question the article tries to answer is not "are there more CAT incidents?" but simply "is there more CAT?")
I glanced at a few current (as of today) routes, e.g. CDG->SIN[0], which don't fly anywhere near the areas of heavy CAT noted by the heat maps. Hell, let's take a look at the flight mentioned, the LHR-SIN SQ321[1], where a passenger died in may (though, as the article notes, it was later determined not to be CAT): that one doesn't fly through any high-CAT areas (and in fact does fly through Russian airspace).
> giving them less options to avoid weather conditions
The entire characterization of CAT is that it is unavoidable because the cause often doesn't have all that much to do with weather conditions, and even when it does, you don't get (enough) advance warning.
[0] https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/SQ/335?year=20...
[1] https://www.flightstats.com/v2/flight-tracker/SQ/321?year=20...
The reason it is top-rated is because it sounds extremely reasonable. This is enough for most people.
I am not judging on whether the comment is correct or not, just answering why it is top-rated. I find nothing weird about it.