It's not about laying blame
Unfortunately some of our friends are not of the same mind, even apportioning blame in percentages.
it's about being realistic and accepting that the Captain of that airliner did hold some responsibility for it hitting the mountain and therefore a public exoneration is not appropriate.
Fully concur.
ampan, absolutely nothing in your latest in anyway proves that the aircraft was in anything other than VMC. Flying the cloud break procedure and breaking out at the required 6,000 would present them with exactly the same issues.
Captain Collins knew that it was very difficult to tell the difference between the cloud and the ice. Tick
He knew there was a 13000 foot mountain in the vicinity, covered in ice. Tick
He descended from above the cloud to below the cloud, thereby putting the cloud above the aircraft and the ice below. Tick
He descended below MSA and below the height of the known hazard. By an approved means, Tick
He purported to descend VMC, which meant that took responsibility for keeping the aircraft clear of terrain, his primary tool being his eyes. Tick - once breaking out at 6,000
To repeat, the terrain below was covered in ice, which he knew. Tick
To repeat, the cloud was above, which he knew. Tick
To repeat, it was very difficult to tell the difference between the cloud above and the ice-covered terrain below Tick
The entire concept of attempting VMC below the MSA was fraught, and entirely at odds with those who do it for a living.
You want fries with that?
Just joshing my friend.
knew that it was unorthidox but was wrapped up the ANZ culture of getting the job done and made a series of poor decisions as a result?
It is impossible to know what Collins thought of course, or why he did what he did on the particular flight. I'm inclined to come down on the side of "Normalisation of Deviance" as mentioned previously. The culture was not to comply with SOPs, and the fact that that was so was widely advertised. If I were to be asked I would say the decisions made by Collins on that fateful day were influenced by the conduct of the previous flights. But of course we will never know.
I flew for Esso in the offshore oil industry for 27 years and it was interesting to see new boys come on board. We made no attempt to comply with regulations, and despite the new boys protestations about what was asked of them, they soon happily fell into line. Such is the influence of organisational demands and perceived peer pressure. I say perceived because no actual pressure came from the other pilots, other than the old boys going out and getting the job done.