I still totally fail to understand the 2nd approach (reported by Ireland's AAIU as established on the ILS at 09.10:56) to RWY 35 after the initial missed approach on RWY 17 at 09:03 hrs. Surely if Cork ATC had refused permission for a change in runway (as no emergency had been declared) we would probably not be talking about this now?
Why was this request for a 2nd approach on a runway not in use at the time, not refused out of hand by Cork ATC in the absence of any declared emergency or other problem? The fact that RWY 35 is only ever Cat 1 with a minimum RVR of 750 metres makes it even more confusing.
I do not recall anyone seriously questioning this bizarre decision for the Captain to immediately request a 2nd approach on RWY 35 which Cork ATC immediately agreed to. It seems incredibly unprofessional in the absence of any emergency being declared. Was the Captain that desperate to get in on time that he made such a request? I feel certain he would have known that he had a VIP on board, a relative of the Irish President.
Is it the human behavioural key to the subsequent and fateful decision to attempt yet another 3rd approach on RWY 17 after a 20 minute hold? God alone must know what it must have been like for those passengers. Was their possible terrified behaviour by this time also a factor? What was actually said during that 20 minute hold?