ShyTorque
Flt Lt Cook and the 2 ALM's had breakfast - there is absolutely no reason why the Aircraft Captain could not have complied with the requirement to have breakfast as well. If he had done so then the 2 Pilots could have gone to Met Briefing together - 2 heads being better than one.
Failure to comply with the orders and instructions laid down regarding such matters is just one aspect of the total breakdown of Command and Control under the stewardship of the Detatchment Commander. Unfortunately, the incoming Detatchment Commander did not exert any pressure on Flt Lt Tapper and merely accepted the situation.
As Detatchment Commander he was responsible for crew composition. I would strongly suggest that to put the 2 experienced Chinook Pilots together to fly the routine in-theatre Army re-supply sorties and delegate the evenings "VIP" sortie to the Naval Officer with minimal experience of the Chinook, whose other Flight Crew member was not an experienced Chinook Pilot but an RAF Navigator, was a major factor in the tragedy that followed.
I would suggest that any Detatchment Commander with a modicum of sense would have placed the RN Exchange officer with the incoming Detatchment Commander in one crew to fly the "In Theatre" resupply sorties whilst he and the RAF Navigator flew the "VIP" sortie.
However, as has been pointed out several times on this Thread, I was never a Rotary Pilot so my views have "no validity".