There’s an immense amount of knowledge and experience on show in this thread - in fact it’s probably a good example of PPRuNe at its best! (Albeit on a tragic subject).
I have some questions that I’d like to put to some of the assembled experts. My queries are best illustrated by reference to a video (one of many) of the flight.
Note: the video is OK to watch to 50 seconds. From 50 seconds it jumps to just prior the crash and the crash itself, so, if you don't want to see the crash, do not go beyond 50 seconds
Questions:
- The RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine (RAF CAM) report for the AAIB suggests that, in the run-up to the accident manoeuvre (the bent loop), the aircraft never exceeded 2.7g. Looking at the video, does that look likely? In fact, in his second report, a prosecution expert witness, Wg Cdr Nicholas Green, who is the RAF Duty Holder for g risks, had estimated the maximum g at 2.4. He admitted in cross-examination that that had been incorrect. Also, the long left turn after the derry is not level, but descending, and downwind.
- Do you notice anything strange about the rate of pitch change at 43 seconds in the video?
- From 43 seconds to 50 seconds, does it look as if anyone is really flying the aircraft?
If you now correlate the engine noise from the video with Figure 11 in the AAIB report (below), more questions arise:
Time 12:21:56.5 in Figure 11 corresponds with 39 second in the video.
How to account for the abrupt power reductions at:- 12:21:49 [32 seconds in the video, at the end of the left turn]
- 12:21:59 – 12:22:00 [42 – 43 seconds in the pull-up, coincident with pitch above] ??
airsound