Words
Having read through all the details of the evidence presented at the CM, it seems clear to me that there are several incontrovertible facts; the ac were seen to be VMC below cloud, their rate of descent and radar track points towards them "seeing a gap and going for it" - possibly supported by the r/t to the effect "this looks good, heaters on"; under a RIS, the responsibility for terrain clearance rests with the pilots.
Bearing that in mind, if instead of clearing the ac to descend to 4000ft, the words "at your discretion" had been added, would there have been a different outcome? We shall never know for sure, but the evidence points strongly towards the fact that the 2 pilots saw what they thought they needed to get their sortie on track and went for it. Tragically, they made the wrong decision and paid a terrible price. But, there is no way that this miserable trial, this tortuous and seemingly endless persecution of Spot, is in any way a decent, honest or reasonable way to reconcile the events of that cold March day.
Obviously, there are lessons to be learned and we all who are involved in flying and providing an ATC service have a duty to make safety our very highest priority - but a witch hunt? A name and a face to point at and say - blame him? No. As has been said many times over - "there but for the grace of god, go I". How many times a day, do words get missed out, misheard, transposed, made to fit what a party expects to hear? That's why we work as a team, we look out for each other, we subject ourselves to stringent assessments, medicals, interviews, scrutiny.
Clearly, where different systems (USAF / RAF?) meet, there may be gaps, pitfalls, blindspots. How do we address these problems? It's an ongoing and ever changing challenge, with new generations, new technology, new requirements, come evermore hurdles. Ultimately, there are events for which there is no safety net - many of our military colleagues may well be putting themselves in such circumstances very soon indeed. To practice these skills involves extreme risk and requires a dedication and bravery that most of us will never be called upon to demonstrate. Two such guys are now listed among the many many others who over the years have followed this path and been taken - I am personally humbled that there are so many who will willingly do this and can only offer my greatest respect to them. They, like guys like Craig Penrice, know what they are getting into - and I doubt any of us could prise them away from a job they love.
Time that those behind prosecuting this awful travesty took a look at the big picture, where they, the aircrew, the controllers, the chain of command, the supervisors, authorisers and legislators all fit in to the scheme of things - and ask themselves "what are we going to get out of this by making Spot the subject of blame"? Shame on them.
God Bless Spot