Apollo, I am afraid I dont agree with your post at all.
You said,
'Now, your CRM takes effect, all your experience, your bravado and you know you are doing everything correct and you are now really working that seat of yours to get to the "numbers" on the runway...'
Unfortunately, your statement is not correct, descending below the grid mora or MSA without visual contact with the ground is not correct, attempting an approach which you are not trained for or the plane is not equipped to do is not correct, and if the GPS approach was not being attempted then it was left to a Jungle Jepp approach is also not correct.
I dont know what happened in this particular case, but we have to accept the limited facts available to us.
1. Bad weather
2. Flight obviously below the grid mora /msa
3. Mountainous terrain below
4. The outcome.
The biggest unanswered question still remains, 'why not divert?'
That for me is the biggest mystery.
Your statement, ' and you know you have to land (for whatever reason)' is probably the most worrying and dangerous statement of all, because there should always be options, but at some point our decisions leave us with no options, and perhaps I have been lucky, but I dont think so, but I have never HAD to land with no other option like you say and I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of us haven't either.
Last edited by south coast; 10th September 2008 at 07:25.