Thanks Shawn - I was going to ask the same question, as I consider myself reasonably au-fait with most offshore CFITs that have occurred in the last 25 years or so, and don't recall many being ARA related. The one that does spring to mind, involving an AS32 L2, was not related to the approach per se, but a mishandled missed approach.
I'm fully in favour of automated, simple to use, approach procedures that bring the aircraft close to the platform - preferrably with AFCS systems that then allow continued coupled flight to close to the commital point. I fully agree that these provide an enhancement to help prevent CFITs, particularly at night and in DVEs. SAC and ECF are both developing such capabilities using elements of their SAR AFCS systems. What I am not in favour of is the assumption that an approach can be designed that does not rely on real time obstacle information using, as a minimum, the radar.
Last edited by 212man; 18th March 2011 at 16:01.