Hi PKPF68-77,
apologies. The tumbleweed, as you put it, is down to having other things to attend to.
I'll to answer your questions, as best I can.
1. Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to parts i - iv. The Captain of the aircraft has the ultimate say on things. However, that was not how Special Forces crews operated. If any of the crew were unhappy, they had equal say in the matter. They trusted each other's decision making, and opinions, absolutely. If anyone was not happy, they woould have made their views absolutely clear! The problem is that there was no cockpit voice recorder, so we will never know for certain.
2. Unlikely, but we will never know for sure.
3. Not really an answer, but I can't get my head around it either. Rick had actually carried out a low level abort in that area some weeks earlier and all crew knew the area really well. Why things ended up as they did will always be a mystery, but there are too many anomalies and incertainties to be able to say, with absolutely no doubt whatsoever, why this tragedy occurred.
My best, as always.
Brian
"Justice has no expiry date" - John Cook