In less than a week the last UK RAF SAR flights are due to close and an enormous gap in coverage opens up on the east coast. At the start of this process the DfT were gullible enough to be taken in by the ruse that Prestwick’s new aircraft and its ability to charge west to east across the country through icing conditions would compensate for the loss of Boulmer’s SAR cab. Yet for the next three months Prestwick won’t have a new SAR cab and when they do, questions still remain about airframe icing and its potential impact on an aircraft attempting such a transit. Were large super-cooled droplets not part of the discussion some time ago? As I recall the icing clearance was based upon the aircraft not flying through large super-cooled droplets. How one judges that whilst airborne is beyond me. Now we have this lightning risk threat thrown in to the equation. Notwithstanding the distance involved, it sounds to me as though Prestwick’s ability to cover Boulmer’s patch is not what was advertised. Sadly it is going to take an unspeakable tragedy of some sort for the DfT to realise the folly of this decision. When Humberside go u/s, which they will at some point, east coast SAR coverage is non-existent. Who in their right minds thinks that this is a good idea?
Last edited by Vie sans frontieres; 24th Sep 2015 at 09:44.