Neither the SuperTANS as a whole nor its component GPS on its own back in those days would have been considered reliable enough to have got that close at that speed while still heading towards the high ground.
You are absolutely right about the immaturity of this system, because a vital component, the operator, is told so in the fabricated RTS. Error messages are meaningless and the GPS (not Trimble 8000 but the entire concept) has no Initial Operating Clearance from the US.
Whatever you say about the a/c's airworthiness,
The point I make is that the above is just one small part of a raft of evidence, supplied by MoD, proving beyond any doubt whatsoever that the Chinook HC Mk2 did not meet the mandated airworthiness criteria in November 1993 (when ACAS issued the RTS - the Master Airworthiness Reference) or in June 1994 (when matters had actually got worse as Boscombe realised the sheer scale of the problems with Safety Critical Software and, for the second time that year, stopped flying the PE Fleet).
(MoD admitted long ago Boscombe’s actions were taken on airworthiness grounds. The question, therefore, is: What was different about ZD576 that made her airworthy?)
But, nowhere has it been suggested that this lack of airworthiness is the sole reason for the crash. I cite it to make two main points.
1. There was a far greater degree of negligence committed by those senior staffs responsible for stating the Mk2 was airworthy, when they had been told it was NOT.
2. Any crash is usually the result of a series of events and there is abundant proof that the immaturity of the Mk2, at the time, caused Human Factors risks and hazards.
I have given you on a plate a line of inquiry that could not only clear the pilots' names but also get real justice.
What has been handed on a plate to campaigners is the fact the aircraft should not have been flying in the first place, in that configuration. My consistent view is that, had these Organisational Faults been investigated and openly reported, it is inconceivable the RO’s would have blamed the pilots. They’d be too busy trying to cover up the failings of their seniors. Oh, that’s what they did............ But, as many have said here, you can’t hide the truth forever. It has taken many years but eventually MoD have released the necessary papers, albeit probably accidentally. Witnessed by the panic stricken claim that the papers they released do not exist!
That’s what I call handing it on a plate.