Fuji, I know we are probably boring the pants off some people, but I think your going the wrong way with your understanding, I'm only saying this as I think you are as interested as I am regarding why this pilot made the decisions he did.
Well done EMMA - I love you!
There are some on here who would say - oh well, another CFIT, stupid fella, all he had to do was stick to the basic mantras.
Of course whilst true, that achieves nothing.
A great deal can be learnt by trying to understand what happened and why it happened - what was going on in the mind of the pilot. From that understanding accidents of this type are less likely to occur in the future and (lest we also forget the basic mantras) we are also less likely ourselves to make the same mistakes.
Sure as the day is long despite the basic mantras accidents of this sort continue to happen but I think because of your interest in wanting to understand why you are far les likely for it to ever happen to you.
B twit - yes I agree a more complete understanding of the radar trace would be very interesting. I also wonder if the AAIB looked at the radar trace of the outbound flight to see which route the pilot had taken? I also meant to check what time of day it was - late afternoon I think - but I cant recall the time of year. Where was the sun and what impact might that have had on visibility?