Originally Posted by NorthSouth
Originally Posted by soay
It brings it home to you how inadequate see and avoid is, when it fails so tragically for two experienced RAF pilots
I presume like everyone else you don't actually know (a) what these aircraft were doing when they collided, (b) whether they knew of each other's presence, (c) whether the pilots were RAF (not all AEF pilots are) and (d) how experienced they were. So I think drawing conclusions about the efficacy of see and avoid may be a tad premature.
From
BBC News:
Flying Officer Hylton Price was a retired wing commander who was part of the RAF voluntary reserves and an experienced instructor. He was a former Tornado and Phantom jet pilot.
Flt Lt Andy Marsh, who had "excellent flying skills", was only promoted last week and was waiting to start advanced fast jet training at Raf Valley.
Gp Capt Andy Naismith said that there were "very strict rules" to ensure planes did not fly too close together.
Seems likely that they were better pilots than most of us, but still did not see each other.
This would not surprise anyone who's flown with TCAS, or a radar information service, because of the number of times you're warned of aircraft that you can't see - even though you've been informed where to look.