Originally Posted by
tartare
Correct me if I'm wrong, but even if Jim Collins was below MSA - how can he be blamed when there was sector whiteout ahead of him - in essence he would have though it was clear - so would have been practising good airmanship?
The INS programming error compounded that assumption.
From what I understand many flights prior had descended below MSA in CAVOK conditions - promotional brochures from Air NZ at the time have photos from aircraft showing terrain through the windows.
Classic example of the holes in the cheese lining up - with a dreadful outcome.
I think it’s more the fact that to get down there, he had to descend through cloud that was already below MSA. And the fact that he didn’t confirm where he was. Two basic airmanship principles