Originally Posted by
cazatou
SFFP
Re your 6693
Mr Ellacott, who was the first on the scene of the crash, stated on oath that the visibility was "only about nine or ten feet maximum."
He also stated "It was difficult to say how far I was from the point of the explosion, but I don't think I could have been more than 100 yards." That is not a great distance; in fact it is the length of the garden at our main house.
100 yards equates to 91.4 metres and the AAIB assessed the impact speed as 150 kts which equates to 77 metres per second. The Pilots would, therefore, have had only a maximum of 1.187 seconds visual warning of impact to assimilate the danger and react. Incidentally, the SAR Sea Kings which were scrambled to the site of the accident reported hover-taxiing in visibility of 20 feet or less to get to the crash site.
Caz,
You seem to be missing my point, but I expect you already know that.
Mr Ellacott may well have been the first on the scene. The weather may well have been as he described when he eventually arrived at the impact site.
But does he or anyone else know what the actual weather conditions were at the crash site at the exact time of the crash
Does anyone actually know what was seen from the flight deck windows at any time from the final turning point to the moment of impact
I would suggest that without the above factual information then it's impossible to arrive at a conclusion that fits with the verdict in this case.