JuggleDan,
well, it's probably only a subtle pitfall prepared for non-native speakers, but, considering the positional messages are actually spaced at 10 min intervals, does the notions "up to the last automatic position report" or "jusque'au dernier point de position automatique" actually includes the last position?
Originally Posted by french copy p. 71
jusqu’au dernier point de position automatique, reçu à 2 h 10 min 34, le vol s’est déroulé sur la route
prévue dans le plan de vol,
Originally Posted by english copy p. 68
up to the last automatic position point, received at 2 h 10 min 35 s, the flight had followed the route indicated in the flight plan,
I consider also the following points:
- The F/O had even more experience than the captain on type: 4479 vs. 1747 flight hours, and a well comparable overall experience.
- The F/O had even more experience than the captain re South American destinations (39 vs 16 rotations)
- GPS precision with 12 satellites in sight is around 4 m on the ground.
- ACARS messages reporting GPS failures or severe degradations had not been transmitted