Originally Posted by
First_Principal
Otherwise sad to read of this event, and the various ways the ultimate end could possibly have been avoided. While there appear to be shortcomings with the ATC response, and recognising the probable cognitive overload of the pilot, it begs the question as to whether a more informative/assertive response from the pilot would have been useful?
FP.
As the pilot was likely maxed out the assertive response was potentially over ruled by the ‘im with D&D tfft’ placebo effect.
A quick ’fix’ might be for RT training to emphasise with the PAN/MAYDAY first contact pass your details response, that ‘VFR only/IFR capable’ or a suitable simple phrase is added. That way an ATCO knows on first contact the criteria the air system is operating to. A simple procedure like that might have blocked a hole in the Swiss cheese in this instance.