Of course, the irony is that FLEET's stance means they disagreed with the Service Deviation permitting lower forward to be switched off if the pilot saw reflected light. According to them, the reflected light had to be ignored.
I can't get my head round that at all. Are you saying Fleet thought the HISL should not have been switched off, because it was under the cockpit and behind on the tail so not in the pilot's direct line of sight?
Tourist, surely some of that bagger capability you mention contributes to the ability to fly the aircraft safely, especially if he's trying to locate another aircraft in darkness? The board discussed the mission tape a lot and that the incoming pilot was relying on information from the rear. Are you saying he shouldn't have been? From what i read it seems he was a bit limited where he could go due to the tlam corridor. Would that make him more reliant on other sensors apart from his eyes?