Having spent a lot of time reading all that has been written on this very sad event, something that keeps "bugging" me is a question which has only partly been answered on the subject of helicopter flight in icing conditions. It seemed to me from reading all the reports and also METARs that with temperatures of minus 3 all around and PLENTY of visible moisture, that rotor and airframe icing would be a relevant and possible hazard? Am I wrong in assuming this, certainly in all my years of fixed wing ops, we would consider such conditions as very conducive to all types of icing (powerplant and airframe )?
Speculating as to why the heli was diverting ( due weather i believe ), perhaps the prolonged flight to Elstree ,which as the crow flies is barely 30 miles from Redhill , could have started ice accretion; "land at nearest suitable airfield" springs to mind...get the thing on the ground asap...very high workload....Many query the fact that Capt Barnes was VERY experienced and thus unlikely to be careless in his operation...so....incapacitation as the workload reached very high levels in the final stages of the diversion?
Yes, I know that the AAIB will produce a comprehensive report, but as in the sad case of Flt Lt Egging ( Red 4 ) the final report really never came up with a reason , just what MIGHT have happened
As some have already hinted, the real truth may prove highly elusive.
Last edited by A310bcal; 18th Jan 2013 at 20:25.