A lot of assuming going on.
Basic question for me remains the same....the Pilot did not see the Crane or did not see it in time....to avoid the Collision.
His Clearance was either VFR or SVFR....either or both which require he maintain adequate visual contact with the Surface or External References to be able to control the aircraft and avoid other Traffic, Obstacles, or terrain.
Altitude by itself is not an issue contingent to being able to see ahead.
Course by itself is not an issue contingent to being able to see ahead.
Speed....becomes an issue with the decrease in distance one can see ahead.
Rules...by and of themselves really do not matter if you can see and avoid terrain and obstacles. They may play a role later when one has a very sterile chat with the CAA fellas... but not as a casual factor.
Questioning how he got to the height to hit the Crane is an issue.
Questioning how his track took him to the Crane is an issue.
Questioning why he did not see the Crane is an issue.
There has been some very good thinking and rational analysis of all that.
Key Question...."How do we figure out what he was thinking and doing that led him to that exact point in space and he not be able to see that Crane?"
I am not sure we shall ever know.
What I do know....there is ample information for the rest of us to draw some pretty accurate conclusions on what not to do if we are ever confronted with similar circumstances.
That is the value of discussions such as we are having here.
For those lessons to utilized...we not only have to spell them out...but we have to make them know to the industry and then implement them in our every day operations.
I see the answer as being very simple but determining the actual cause is going to be nearly impossible.
Either his vision was blocked by Cloud or Fog, Mist on the Windscreen, or some other external cause. Or, he was distracted and looking inside at a critical moment while flying in limited visibility thus preventing him from taking avoiding action having allowed his altitude control to be affected by the weather and altitude limitations in the area he was flying in. He must have found it more expedient to fly lower rather than higher.
Which one of those were the cause.....I make no choice.....I just see them as the more logical choices of many.
Last edited by SASless; 27th Jan 2013 at 18:39.