Arrikas, thank you for your valued contribution to this thread....
Well, from what I understand, they have to set that DH on RA regardles of the kind of approach they are doing.
I appreciate that it is still the practice in Russia to land using QFE as a reference rather than QNH which has of late been adopted by most other nations. It may be argued that the advantages of one are half a dozen, and the other has benefits of six, but provided one is aware of the procedural differences and the reference being used at the time, I accept that there is little difference between the two. Either wy I am sure that the crew in question were familiar with both methods.
Irrespective of whether one carries out an approach using QFE or QNH, both references are generated by the same BAROMETRIC instrument - the Altimeter, of which there should be
three available to the crew (assuming it is an aircraft equipped for RVSM)..
As has been discussed, in the case of a
non precision approach (which was apparently being conducted at the time) the primary aid in respect of vertical navigation with which to judge the minimum descent altitude (QNH approach) or minimum descent height (QFE approach) should ONLY be a barometric Altimeter, and not a RAD ALT indication.. The reasons for this are now perhaps clear for all to understand.
Regarding the quotation above, am I to understand that
despite a recent avionics upgrade, the aircraft had no means of alerting the crew when a specific BAROMETRIC height (QFE) or altitude (QNH) was reached during the descent? Are you therefore stating that the only means of alerting the crew to DA or DH was by means of on a pre-set
Rad Alt indication and alarm?