kilo52
Perhaps I can help. You wrote:
"WORSE - because if the Chinook HC2 was supposed to be grounded before the crash then why was it not grounded AFTER the crash?"
I am familiar with all the flight crew that perished in the Chinook accidents of the 1980s, and 1990s. Your question reminds me of one that occured in the Falkland Islands in the mid '80s.
It was the first time the aircraft had flown since a deep service, when (amongst other things) the aft pylon had been removed, and refitted, with no supporting paperwork.
On a clear sunny day, in the cruise, the aircraft very gently nosed forward from 500'agl.
45 seconds later it crashed at high speed in a vertical dive.
Eyewitnesses saw no succesful attempt to correct the flight path, with the inescapable conclusion that the aircraft was uncontrollable. All (7, I believe) on board perished, in spite of one's effort to vacate the aircraft prior to impact.
The only transmision made, was the middle portion of the phrase **cking he**, from one of my fine colleagues.
The subsequent reaction of the RAF, to this 'one in a million' accident which HAD EYEWITNESSES!! Was this.
"We should really ground every Chinook, until we find out what caused this crash. However, there is so little of the aircraft still remaining, we have to accept we may NEVER know what caused it!"
We now enter 'La-La' logic.
Their worry was that, once this enormously important resource was grounded, how would they clear it to fly again, if the cause was never determined!
They incredibly arrogantly, calmed everyone's sensitivities by placing the Station Commander, the Squadron commander, and one or two other 'faces' on the next chinook to fly, and upon their successful return, proclaimed:
There you are boys, WE believe it's safe, and we've just proved it is, off you go!!
The subsequent, extremely protracted, investigation did indeed find no definite cause. Two plausible technical possibilities were advanced, neither of which could be proven. One of which had massive implications for the manufacturer, Mr Boeing.
10 years later, neither of these possibilities was excluded as being responsible for the tragedy on the Mull.
Imagine the fun Messrs Wratten, and Day could have had with the Falklands accident, had there been NO EYEWITNESSES!
As a footnote, this was one of the accidents whose subsequent recommendations was that CVRs, and FDRs be fitted to all Chinooks.
Ten years later, it seems to me, two fine men, and pilots, have paid an enormously heavy price for the continued absence of that equipment.
God bless them.
Think of them ALL on the 2nd June.