Erebus 25 years on

[Desert Dingo]

ampan:

If Captain Wilson told the crew, at the briefing, that the nav track went to the NDB at McMurdo Station, is it pilot error, of the 10-25% order?

Nah. If that was the case I would give you more than that. I would be straight over into the Chippindale camp – 100% pilot error.
There are these two scenarios:

1. If Collins was told and believed that the track was over Erebus then it was a suicidal act of his to point the aircraft at Erebus and engage NAV with less than 10 miles to run
2. If Collins was told, but did not believe the track was over Erebus because he had plotted a track down Mc Murdo Sound, then he was monumentally irresponsible not to question the difference in tracks.

Either way - huge pilot error.

I don’t follow your argument against McFarlane. I agree that much of the records of transcripts and briefs we are working with now come from his book, and it would be great if we could get back to the original transcripts. But your argument seems to be along the lines

• We are using data from McFarlane’s book
• McFarlane is clearly a Mahon supporter
• Therefore we should not trust anything in McFarlane’s book.

I don’t agree. McFarlane gives references to all the sources he quotes from. You can be sceptical about the conclusions he reaches, but he is showing you where the original data is from which he makes those conclusions. He can’t fake that.
Maybe he is a Mahon supporter because he has checked all the conclusions Mahon made and can’t find anything wrong with them.

To sustain your proposition that Wilson told Collins that the track was over Erebus you have to find an explanation as to why

• All the briefing material implied the track was not over Erebus
• Why the final waypoint was in McMurdo Sound for 14 months and Wilson did not notice it.
• Why all those pilots said Wilson did not say that to them.
• Why did Collins engage NAV and fly a collision course with Erebus
• Why did Cassin not object to Collins doing this.

I’m sure you have heard of Ockham’s Razor about the simplest explanation being the best.
How about this for a real simple explanation: Wilson did not say that the track was over Erebus.
That would be a good explanation for all the above.