no such accident took place / has taken place

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with your examples. Unfortunately, your examples do not have the slightest resemblance to the sentence in question.

In your Grandpa example. I would use the simple past tense. It was an action that was completed in the past.

 

[2006]

I agree with your examples. Unfortunately, your examples do not have the slightest resemblance to the sentence in question.
You have completely missed the point of my last post, whose purpose was to demonstrate the one situation I know of in which the present perfect tense is correct and the simple past tense is wrong.
In the sentence that this thread is dealing with, both tenses are correct. I think you asked me to 'prove' (I don't remember your exact words) that the simple past is also correct. I could also ask you to show how it's wrong.

Regarding Raymott's contention that most speakers of British and Australian English would only use present perfect tense in the sentence in question, I obviously have no choice to believe him. But American English is also a significant part of the English world and in American English both tenses are used.
All the above is what learners of English should know and they can choose their tense of choice. But I think that no one should suggest or imply that simple past tense is 'grossly inferior' to present perfect tense.

Finally, the overselling of present perfect tense results in sentences like the above being seen on the internet. Some of the examples may have been posted here before.

I have been at home last night.
Today has been six weeks since they were last seen.
I have been born in Delhi.

...

 

[MikeNewYork]

I don'r think that I missed your point at all. But if you think that post "proved" that the simple past tense was correct in the original sentence, you missed that by a mile. But I fear that we will will not agree on this issue.

 

[2006]

I don'r think that I missed your point at all. But if you think that post "proved" that the simple past tense was correct in the original sentence, you missed that by a mile. Again, what that post did was tell about the only situation that I know of in which only the present perfect is the correct tense of the two we are talking about. On the other hand, nothing has been said to show how the simple past might be wrong in the sentence in question! So until it is shown to be wrong in some conclusive way, it must be assumed to be correct.

But I fear that we will will not agree on this issue. It certainly looks like that.

...

 

[MikeNewYork]

<<<So until it is shown to be wrong in some conclusive way, it must be assumed to be correct.>>>

You wish.

 

[bhaisahab]

I am closing this thread. It is no longer serving any useful purpose.