This tragic accident hits far too close to home. No anonymous internet condolences from me, but I am saddened to see more families touched by tragedy in our industry. Every person we lose is too many.
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CADORS: Report
I can't recall what avionics and autopilot fit IMY had installed. What I do recall, the 76A's had a large variance from phase II/III up to fully coupled Sperry AP's with little standardization. As a quick read through this thread already reveals, not everyone has the same idea of what kit was onboard.
Malabo, I do not recall any of those machines having dual 530's. Has the fit been improved that much over the last few years?
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SAS, I would say that in the northern bases, NVG would be more helpful than the south. A lot more of the areas lacking cultural lighting so even a very high overcast can reduce ground references to essentially zero. It is also seasonal as in the northern summer, dark becomes more relative and shorter. It's not the arctic circle by any means, but better.
That operation does not do 'scene calls' (unprepared sites) at night, only airports and approved helipads. The province of Ontario has for many years created a very good infrastructure to support the EMS operations. Dispatch is integrated with all other ambulance resources: airplane, helicopter, land vehicles, etc. A very good system.