JP
We spoke about the matter of weather in Feb 08 and it became clear to me that we would never agree and that you would never understand. The conditions mentioned above very well cover what I experienced that evening. False horizon, cloud and hill merging to give deceptive aspect etc etc, but still in sight of surface and clear of cloud. I have never been able to understand why so much emphasis was put on the eye witness reports on the ground..er ..they were on the ground. I accept that the lighthouse keepers may have been trained met observers, but their experience was not in aviation meteorology.
At Carradale visibility in one direction on the ground was very poor in certain directions but good in others, by the same token an observer in the air (ie me) looking in the same direction could find himself with a completely different view.
Unless you can clear the matter up without doubt I do not see how it can be "put to bed"
rgds
DL