Originally Posted by
compressor stall
They have their value, but in a fast changing tropical environment when you’re trained to shoot an approach to 200ish feet I still don’t think that is that useful. When do you look at it? Before departure, 90 mins ago? At the IAF? You want the data for the last two hundred feet which is as you say is the AWIS.
If this was a VFR into IMC accident, a webcam could have made a difference and they might have never get off the ground and just gone to the pub. But unless it’s fog all around, a TEMPO +RA TAF shouldn’t stop an IFR commercial pilot going (caveat that I haven’t seen the TAF for yesterday)..
Again, I’m not deriding webcams. I’m not sure of their relevance in this accident. It reminds me of my RFDS days. Returning to base from the big smoke I’d sometimes get the nervous doc or nurse back at base call me to say the weather is atrocious - fierce rain and storms. and i should delay returning (about an hour flight). They never understood when I’d say thanks, that’s great news, I’m leaving now ... knowing full well it’d clear by the time I got there. It never failed me.
Sheepy - they were 5000m+ from the runway.
All fair points, for me if I knew a webcam was available I'd probably try and check it about 10-15mins from the destination just as a matter of gathering that data to complete the picture. I've operated in a part of the world where I trusted the webcams that happened to be around a HELL of a lot more than the MET and they saved my bacon on a few occasions too so I guess I've built an appreciation of them but as mentioned, like any data it needs to be taken in conjunction with all your other sources too. That last part was very specific to there though and not a general indication of their relevance in all parts of the world.
In this particular accident 10-15mins out it may have been apparent from the webcam that a heavy shower was approaching and that were other options such as holding, diverting etc... but we won't really know as we weren't there and won't have any real clue till the investigation is complete. Even then with the way CASA/ATSB goes with GA we may never have any real clue or good safety outcomes from it unfortunately, which I personally think is just another tragedy to add ontop of it all.