Weather Minima
In recent posts on this thread and in answer to my queries, the weather minima for the SH force have been given as 100' and 1000 metres, even 500 metres in Germany. I made a specific query about whether such minima would apply to a non-tactical flight and there has been no answer that would suggest there would be any difference between operational/non-operational flying. I expressed surprise that a flight from Aldergrove to Inverness carrying civilians could be made using these minima.
In the Governments reply to the the statement from the House of Lords Committee, (and no doubt elsewhere), it is stated the the VFR limits for helicopters below 140 knots are clear of cloud, in sight of the ground and with a forward visibility of 1000 metres. For helicopters above 140 knots, as in this case, 5.5 kms and a greater separation (not specified) from cloud is required.
There is a considerable difference between the SH force minima and the VFR limits quoted here. Can anyone provide an authoritative answer as to which minima would have applied for this flight? It seems to me to have considerable relevance to the point at which the conduct of the flight was deemed to have become negligent.