Originally Posted by
Cornish Jack
Thank you tucumseh.
Just a clarification ... 'basic airmanship'? yes, the query was re. Safety Altitude both here and at Erebus. Re. the BOI's conclusions on the crew culpability, it seems the SOs considered that only the pilots had any responsibility for the safe conduct of the flight - an assumption both arrogant and dangerous.
While the Chinook was the one rotary of which I had no personal experience, I did have experience of the fatal results of failure on the part of 'authority' to deal with an aircraft 'discrepancy' . It is not an experience which should be allowed to pass unquestioned !
Arrogant and dangerous? Definitely. They were found guilty of gross negligence for refusing to commit negligence.
There was a disagreement between the Board member and Reviewing Officers as to what the forward crewman was doing. And the rear man, according to MoD, had no time to carry out all the duties required of him, such as connector checks, etc. And the relative priority put on those checks made no sense.
The 'itch' I'd like scratched is an explanation of CAS's claim they were 'off course by some miles'.
Time marches on, and with Day having passed away, and Wratten, Graydon, Austin, Bagnall and the rest not saying anything, the whole truth is ever more difficult to uncover. Their silence speaks volumes.