411 just mentioned this and I was wondering...
Is the DI in an EFIS generated by a gyro (like a regular DI)? I ask because, when I fly, one of the last items on my pre-takeoff checklist is to set the DI against the Magnetic Compass. Do you still do that with a 'glass cockpit'? A side issue of doing this, since you are lined up on the centreline, is to mentally confirm that you are on the right runway.
In the lunchtime (local) press conference the Airport Director would not comment on which runway had been used but he did say that 08/26 was 'a GA runway for daylight use only'. Are there any lights at all on that runway?
A final thought. If (as has been suggested but not confirmed) they were cleared to depart from the intersection then wouldn't a fully lit runway 22 have been visible to both pilots at their 10 o'clock?
Departure from the intersection on 22 would have given them the required 5,000 feet but less than 2,000 on 26
Last edited by Xeque; 28th Aug 2006 at 04:37.