Originally Posted by
compressor stall
I’m not sure what value a camera would have in preventing this accident. The PIC was by definition a professional pilot and the expectation is that he should give it a go unless there was good reason not to. He was IFR rated for a reason.
My experience of Lockhart over 3 years is that it’s tropical and if you don’t like the weather wait 30 mins.
Cameras have their usefulness in determining VFR conditions and should be encouraged in that context. Their usefulness is limited in determining whether the cloud is above or below IFR RNAV minima.
The METAR. AWIS and talking to UNICOM operator are many many times more useful than a webcam image
Compressor, I'd posit that it's a lot easier and cheaper to deploy some good quality Webcams around aerodromes than it is to have a Unicom everywhere which makes them extremely valuable in my mind. AWIS is great but it tells you what's happening right there, where as a good webcam can help fill in some blanks about where stuff is actually happening. It's all extra data really to help complete the picture but in the end it's about the Pilot being able to take that data and use it wisely of course and neither is a substitute for the other.