WOrkER,
noted.
Your questions weren't declined. They had been answered before on one of the many pages in this subject.
However, I'll give you my opinion.
I don't know how any crew could be justfied in remaining below safety altitude if they were IMC at the time of a waypoint change. However, we don't know that this crew were, and making the assumtion that they were negates the verdict.
If they were VMC, there would have had to have been a visual recognition, and acknowledgement, of the waypoint prior to it being changed to Corran, irrespective of whether or not they were flying directly over the pencil mark on the map. Why then, after making the change, did two experienced pilots choose to fly, in the words of the then Station Commander of RAF Odiham, ... a speed and power combination that is unrecognisable as a Chinook technique.
You make the comment "That we do not know their position at WP change to within a few metres, or their height to within a few feet, or their speed to within a knot, is all irrelevant."
Actually, with the greatest of respect, it is quite relevant as it makes it absolutely clear that no-one knows exactly what went on in those last few minutes of the flight. It also shows that the simulation is simply just that - based upon best guess statistics. On that basis alone, Jon Tapper and Rick Cook deserve the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps I could now pose a few questions to you.
1. Had the pilots seen the lighthouse prior to changing the waypoint?
2. Why did they elect to fly an unrecognisable Chinook technique?
3. What were the two crewmen doing during the latter part of the flight?
I look forward to your response.
My best, as always.
Brian
"Justice has no expiry date" - John Cook