There is another aspect we might want to consider. If they were following the NDB profile then the procedure ends at the MM (“Near Beacon”), and the height is 70m at the NDB. (Chart posted by Criss on previous thread) To ensure they were at the correct height to give them the best chance of a landing it is likely they would want to descend early rather then risk being too high. The Go-around appears to have been called at about 80m but of course RA not baro QFE. Coincidence ? Maybe.
Did they know in advance of the limits passed to them by ATC - 100m ? Perhaps they had always planned to fly the approach to the end of the procedure, i.e 70m and they just decided to ignore the 100m DH. Certainly there is no evidence from the CVR of an attempt to comply or even an acknowledgement of limits at the 100m call.
And at the 100m point, the first TAWS “Pull Up” was not actioned. In western civil flying that’s a mandatory immediate go-around. Apparently not in the Polish AF.
A visual acquisition attempt must be a possibility,with everyone looking out and taking no account of the high descent rate close to the ground. But what did they expect to see in visibility of 400m (200m if they had heard the last report from the Yak40) and cloud base of ~50m when they were still almost 2km from the runway? Some sort of “sucker gap” over the valley due to orographic effects maybe ?
Last edited by Tagron; 16th Jun 2010 at 21:58.
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