Originally Posted by
Olive oil
The Rules of The Air for an aircraft flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) are simple and brief:
1. Pilots are responsible for maintaining separation from other aircraft.
2. Pilots are to maintain visual meteorological conditions (VMC). If a pilot is unable to maintain VMC, instrument flight rules (IFR) are mandatory. The conditions for VFR vary according to aircraft type and speed and are stated earlier on this thread. (4560 region).
The ROs were both experienced and accomplished pilots in their respective rotary wing and fast jet fields, with clear understandings of the Rules of The Air when making their judgements. It is absurd to suggest that they made their decisions lightly or that they selected information to fit their findings.
Olive,
I would be genuinely grateful if you would cast your eyes over this missive in it's entirety as I would value your thoughts.
If the RO's had told us exactly what had happened, stated exactly why it had happened and furnished everyone with proof that satisfies the requirements to enable them to reach the verdict they had, then this thread and the campaign would have never have come to fruition.
I spent the best part of 10 happy years as a Puma crewman, initially when it was 2 crew ops, then operating in NI in some of the most awful weather day and night, then in Germany with trips to Belize etc. I hark back to those days and the healthy respect for weather that rotary crews were taught from day 1 and there are, amongst many others, 3 main things here, that for me simply do not add up.
1. Nobody can state with any degree of accuracy as to at what exact point the aircraft departed VFR and entered IFR. In fact whilst it's generally accepted, based on witness statements that at some point prior to impact they ended up being IFR at max chat, no one can prove conclusively that they were ever IFR.
Before people snort in derision I ask the aircrew amongst you to consider how many times you have been aloft and seen the edge of fog/low cloud where within 100 yards or so you could go from absolute porridge to gin clear? Or the drivers amongst you to consider how many times on a motorway have you gone from fog to clear in a few car lengths? Unless I have mis read things there was no witness at the point of impact so how can anyone say with 100% certainty the crash site was in fog?
2. Nobody can state with a 100% degree of certainty that the aircraft was serviceable prior to impact. I agree fully that no one can state the aircraft was definitely U/S but there is undeniable evidence to suggest a control malfunction could have occurred but was discounted.
3. Based on the assumptions made by the RO's nobody can tell me why an experienced 4 man crew would ever act in the manner required to confirm the verdict reached. Not a shred of what is assumed fits with SH SOP's and for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would reach this conclusion.
I spent the first 14 years of my service life as an aircraft technician and whilst I would have loved to have been a pilot I was simply never clever enough so I applied for ALM. One of the main reason for my acceptance and subsequent success, as debriefed by many, was my ability to apply common sense and logic to situations which is all I have tried to do here.
Common sense and logic tell me the aircraft was almost certainly serviceable prior to impact and the crew quite probably porked up. What common sense and logic also go on to tell me is that probably etc simply does not support the verdict reached and tells me that for the life of me I don't know now and never will know exactly why this accident happened.
Now I have always admitted to not being the sharpest tool in the box and all I have ever asked of John Reid on the flight deck of Albert, JP, Caz, Baston, Atlantic Cowboy and others is to show me the conclusive evidence, the smoking gun if you like that give a 100% confirmation of the RO's findings.
Prove to me without a single shadow of a doubt at what point the aircraft went IFR and prove to me without a single shadow of a doubt that the aircraft was fully serviceable at the point of impact and you will convert me to your way of thinking.
But if all you have in your locker is the same supposition that I have this could go on for a while.