Radar fix
I recently emailed Geoff Hoon regarding apparent inaccuracies in the MOD response to the HOL Select Committee. I believed that the initial fix used by Boeing to calculate average groundspeed was inaccurate and that this had implications for conclusions drawn further on in the report (see post 554). Essentially, I thought the initial fix was purely an r/t position report at zone boundary, so did not give an accurate fix to start with, and that Boeing in any case had used a figure of 7nm instead of 9nm from the VOR (which was the figure suggested in a previous inquiry).
I have today received a reply from the MOD which indicates a radar fix might have been available. This is an extarct from the letter:-
' I have rechecked the evidence given by the Air Traffic Controller who was on duty at Belfast International Airport just before the tragic accident, and this states that, at 1747 hrs, the aircraft reported at the Zone Boundary and advised changing to an en-route frequency. Also that (at the time) "the helicopter was observed on radar to be approximately 7nm out on the 027 degree radial from the Belfast VOR". - It follows therefore, that your revised average ground speed of the aircraft is incorrect.'
Questions - does anyone know which report this evidence is quoted in and should/would the radar have been recorded? If the radar was recorded, why are there no tapes available?
Regards, TAC