CYRB Approaches....
I've shot approaches to both sides (17/35T), numerous times, both in PWA/Canadi>n Airlines B7372s and Hercs. What to say other than its a very sad day up there. We can sit here all we want and try and 'figure out' what was going on there but in the end,some of the answers will be found on the FDR, and CVRs if the data is good, and by the investigators who are charged at trying to figure out what really went wrong.
There are so many variables about flying into Res'...if there was fog, then it can be a real can of worms. The fog takes on a life of its own up there, depending on the prevailing wind. Sometimes, what one expects to see and what actually 'is' are two different things. Let me say that flying in the Canadian high arctic was some of THE most demanding flying that a pilot could ever experience, on a good day...when was the last time that any of you ever used 'destination grid' and 'grid offsets' or ever aligned your compasses with a sextant, prior to the approach? Why you ask? Magnetic compasses don't work up there and the gyros have to be manually aligned because they aren't slaved.
'Thoughts are with the families who lost a loved one in this'. Its never easy.