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Old 22nd May 2010, 23:30
  #60 (permalink)  
ST27
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
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Amazing that a high-level government flight could be operated with such lax standards.
Amazing that you think the crew flying IFR in dense fog down to a planned 100m altitude were NOT watching their barometric altimeter!
Backing up a bit, I would suggest that a similar flight from another major country, carrying top government officials, wouldn't have even considered making an attempt to land using a NPA, knowing the visibility was well below minimums, and that another aircraft had diverted after making two attempts. They would have diverted without even trying, simply to ensure safety. It almost appears that they made the attempt to be able to say that at least they tried to land.. More political than safety-driven.

What do you suppose the pilot was thinking as he set up the approach? Perhaps that he was going to descend to his MDA, fail to see the ground, bounce off and execute a GA?

So how did he get as low as he did? Was the PA set wrong? (The CVR supposedly recorded ATC giving him the correct altitude, and the Polish YAK already on the ground had the same reading.) When the RA readings became available, did they fail to cross-check the PA? Why did the crew fail to immediately react to ATC telling them they were too low, and the GPWS telling them to "pull up"?

Yes, those are the questions the inquiry will attempt to answer, but I still ask how their procedures even allowed them to make an attempt to land.
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