Oh dear - this is a struggle!
JP - I am also confused by YOUR post - I do not recall mentioning anything about hills and height? I still await your answer to:
What I have been trying to correct, however, based on a fair bit of operational and other low-level flying, is that, far removed from your 'fair-weather only' low-level mantra, both the route, the weather and the crew were in all probability suitable for the task with which they were tasked and they accepted which you seem to refute. Do YOU accept this or do you maintain that they should have abandoned the route because there was (the usual) cloud on the Mull? A simple question I would like confirmed one way or the other please.
Indeed, we DO, as Brian says, very much have an 'open mind' on all of this and we do not know with certainty why they flew on the track they did. Personally I would also be particularly interested in your answers to Brian's questions 1,3,4,5,6 and 7. I would add to 6) 'the other crew-members too'. (I think we can assume coastal stratus/fog for 2). I would indeed like to hear your positive assertion (to support the ROs) that an acknowledged competent multi-crew deliberately and willfully steered the machine from waypoint change towards cloud-covered rising ground (with predictable consequences) rather than follow the logical coastal route. The fact that they did not take the logical action of turning away to stay off the coast is to us totally inexplicable. Perhaps you can offer a reason?
I see you have given your 'reason' now, but unless you are again 'confused' by the questions, I would ask for why you think they did not follow the coast when they sighted this 'fog station' and the cloud covered Mull.
Baston -
Are you saying that these two highly qualified pilots both suffered from it at the same time and did nothing?
- I think you are confused - that was not
my question. Incidentally, I have never used 'DR' on low-level nav. I do not know of the practice. Normal technique was to fly visually towards the turning point and, er, turn? Can you enlighten me on this DR timing thing? Sounds a bit 'dodgy' to me, if you don't know where you are. I've done loads of 'timed' legs, both en-route and IP to target, but never by 'DR'.