WTFO?
Guys,
Whilst I am aware that for some (namely the families of the aviators who perished) this is still and will ever remain an incredibly painful subject. I knew all of the 849 Sqdn guys (standfast Lt Adams USN) and their death hit me, and many other that knew them, extremely hard. Before people start using Haddon-Cave as a drum to beat and resurrect this incident and attack UK MoD to, in some cathartic way, find someone to blame, let's re-cap:
1. The accident occured at night, at Low Level (due to Airspace Control Measures - ie hard-ceiling above) in an extremely pressurised environment.
2. The ATCO made the correct call, in sufficient time to both aircraft - on an unbeliveably busy circuit. The two SKs collided despite this call.
Would NVG and/or different lighting have made a difference? Perhaps, maybe probably. Would the ATCO have done something made more calls if he knew the aircraft were going to collide? OF COURSE - WOULDN'T WE ALL. But there were no NVG for the ASAC community, they were not trained. It was not deemed to be a requirement at the time. We can all find reasons why this should not have happened - but it comes down to this. It was a tragic accident - utterly awful and the loss of life was and will always be unbearable to those who mourn them. Everything that happened after the moment of impact can now be questioned in hindsight - up to the moment the two aircraft collided, the pilots were in charge of their destiny (to a degree I accept).
Before I am criticised for, in some way, defending the UK MoD policy of ill-equipping our forces - don't go there. I lost friends - people I lived with, spent quality time with, flew with. DO NOT think I wouldn't change anything to have them all back. Aviation, especially military aviation, is a dangerous business. Aircrew operate near and sometimes beyond the edge of the envelope of safety, dependent upon operational necessity. When we lose people through accidents it is only right that we look inwards and try to ensure that it never happens again, for whatever reason. But you cannot change what has happened and to argue that HISL or NVG would have stopped this happening is an exercise in futility and an insult to the seven men who perished on that night, going out to do their job - a job they all signed up for - despite knowing the inherent risks.