I find this whole event so sad, so unnecessary & yet after all these years we have leanrt nothing & professional people here right amongst these pages throwing rocks at each other as if it was a school ground to see whom has the biggest rock !
5 people lost their lives that awful night due a chain of events, no one single reason. Sure they would probably still be alive today had the pilot made a decision not to continue with suspect instruments but doing so was going to be a hassle at Cooly, the peer pressure made that decision for him & as most know 'push-on-itus' is very strong even on the ground. Sure the Willy controllers could have given the guy instant clearance to go coastal reducing the risks considerably but due some rather archaic & perhaps by world standards over the top rules clearance was not instantly possible & lastly the weather should have been a huge indicator that such a flight inland at night in an unpressurized single was of a high risk nature, that risk solely rested upon the PIC.
Lets all pray for closure so the families can put to rest once & for all the utter waste of life & the forever bickering that goes on.
We can't bring them back man has always leanrt from their mistakes the hard way but we can place upon their headstones someday ........"here lies 5 men whom paved the way for others so they can be kept from harms way"
Wmk2