Dear Aviator Friends:
I've been a lurker on this forum for years and have enjoyed reading the information posted. I've come to know that there are a lot of people here that are a lot smarter than me.
However, after 40 years of flying 2, 3,and 4 engine jets all over the world, I have come to a point where I have to make a few comments.
I may get flamed for my opinion, but here goes.
- The fact that the procedure was NA on some charts does not matter
- The fact that Mrs. Benson's trees were 921' instead of 915' does not matter
- The fact that the controller saw their lights does not matter.
What matters is that they were over 200' lower than the MDA for the approach.
Had they leveled off at an MDA of 1,200 and flown until they saw 2 white/2red PAPI's and the REIL's, they would be home with their families, and we would not be having these discussions.
We can discuss mirages, refractions, tree heights, runway in sight call outs, etc., etc., but the basic fact is they were lower than published minimums.
Now, why were they low? The NTSB should have plenty of data to tell us soon.
In the meantime, let me throw out a few more points for discussion.
The NTSB only noted EGPWS warnings and sounds consistent with hitting the trees, however the CVR went on for quite a while. Why weren't there other “expletives deleted” or call outs?
Did the A/P miss a level off? (maybe due to setting the MA altitude before it captured?)
Was there a pilot incapacitation at a critical moment?
Were both heads in the cockpit for some reason? (Remember EAL in the Everglades?)
Thanks to my fellow aviators for your comments here.
Regards