John R81;
We see Battersea is open/closed as pilots. In similar conditions to the day Pete Barnes crashed (but a couple of years before) I had a passenger tell me that he had spoken to Battersea and they were open, and why was I refusing to fly? In my case Battersea was open, the problem was the LHR/LCY weather meant we would not have been able to legally get into the zone. Trying to tell a pushy passenger that yes, Battersea was open, just as reception had told him, but that the weather passed to me by Battersea ATC precluded landing there seemed utterly beyond the grasp of such an intelligent man.
If Pete's passenger had spoken to Battersea, I suspect he would have spoken to reception NOT ATC. Yes Battersea was either open, or about to open following all the checks, and certainly was open for passengers to sit and drink coffeee in the lounge while their pilots waited for the weather to clear enough for them to get in, that did not constitute a confirmation that the weather was suitable. Its a question of semantics, to Cave Dweller (who really does know his stuff) Battersea was closed to air traffic, 60 metres away in reception to the guys and gals who look after the pax and take all the bookings and phone calls from customers etc Battersea was definately open.
The passenger sends a text saying Battersea open from his limited level of knowledge, the meaning to the pilot is different. A box 2 call to Battersea could possibly have sorted the confusion, but we will never know.
SND