Originally Posted by
aterpster
It really boils down to "aviagate" "navigate" then "communicate."
The crew saw the airport from their perch, not anyone else. You simply do not circle to land unless the view of the airport and your position are within the parameters.
You also do not 'circle to land' for one runway while cleared for another, then perform two 'orbits' (one on the short final path of the runway they weren't meant to be landing on, the other over the field and on the deck), do you?
Taking into consideration what actually happened, are you really confident in your pronouncement that the crew had all the boxes ticked prior to commencing their 'circle to land' maneuver?