My Thoughts …
Boeing must improve cockpit floor design.
Boeing should build a warning into their aircraft to alert crew if the thrust is increasing whilst the speedbrake is extended.
Companies must stop applying so much pressure to captains about fuel carried … at that time letters and phone calls from management were a regular feature of life in many companies.
Company fuel policy must include sensible allowances when CBs are forecast at destination and alternates.
The flight crew should have carried a minimum of one hours extra holding fuel (about 3.3 t on the 757).
Given the actual weather at arrival in GRN the descent should not have continued below FL100 until conditions improved.
The FO should have flown the approach. This would have given the captain far greater capacity to monitor the big picture. If the VOR/DME approach had been flown accurately the aircraft might well have landed safely first time.
On the ILS approach the weather radar should have remained on and the autopilot should have been used as late as possible. The aircraft could even have autolanded!!!!
On a manual approach, once you lose visual contact near the ground, you go around … end of story.
The crew could then have diverted to Barcelona.
Everyone should stop criticising the Spanish authorities … their facilities met ICAO standards on the night. Would a UK airport have done any better given the massive CB that was sitting over the field … I personally have experienced lighting failures twice in the UK (fortunately not at the very late stage that occurred in this instance).
Finally, the excellent Flight editorial on the Gerona accident should be made compulsory reading for all aviators.
There, but for the grace of God go any of us.