Originally Posted by
MaximumPete
I think it might have been partly due to the Vanguard accident at Heathrow that a mandatory landing limit for RVR was introduced which raised my companies limits from 200m to 600m for Cat 1 ILS operation.
Although it's not really relevant to the issues of conducting multiple go-arounds especially in dynamic changing wind conditions, for those interested, attached is a summary report of the Vanguard accident.
There's also a summary of the history of changes to operating minima at
How Operating Minima developed. | PicMA
At the time of this accident the concept of Decision Height had not been developed. One post implies that this approach was "busting limits" but that was not the case, and it did lead to a general increase in ILS Cat 1 minima from 350 to 600m.
As a personal opinion I did fly the Vanguard for a brief period as a newly qualified Captain. The combination of flight instruments and low altitude flying qualities was horrible and were certainly the major elements in causing this accident. The Smiths Flight System SFS2 had an awful attitude display which IIRC had a very small movement for pitch change with a variable horizontal datum, and when combined with the lags in the pressure instruments produced a monumentally confusing mental picture of what was happening.
Incidentally AG, re your PWK diversion, I believe there were some -200s with a stretched upper deck including JAL. Quite why one would have been operating a JNB-LHR sector for BA I have no idea!