3 Holer says
There have been a number of "presumptions" on this thread and that highlights the point I made earlier. No one will ever know what went on during the descent/approach because the crew did not survive the crash.
.......which also applies to the "whiteout" theory. Often presented as fact, Vette's theory about mindset/false horizon causing the pilots to 'see' a flat vista of ice stretching out into the distance is nothing more than an idea - and a rather fanciful one at that I would suggest. Given the conditions at the time, and the comments made in the cockpit, I'm sure they saw a "sea" of white, but something akin to flying inside a ping pong ball. Something like this (minus the penguins and starlifter)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...h_penguins.jpg