We all know why they were not where they thought they were.
But surely before you begin a descent below MSA, knowing there is a bloody big mountain very close that nobody had sighted, where they thought they were is not good enough? Surely being certain, when the means for positively ascertaining your exact position was so easy to obtain? would have been a very good idea, and by not using any other method than the track you thought you were on only is foolhardy in the extreme? quite apart from not being "proper" below MSA.
Surely that is all the debate is about, that this crew should shoulder some of the responsibily for the disaster? If as Mahon says they made no error, then surely that puts all the error on other people. They also made mistakes, but those mistakes could have been corrected if astute airmanship had of been exhibited by the crew.
COMPLETE HONESTY
Hand on heart, with total honesty, and after 20,000 plus hours, 14000 hours as PIC on heavy jets, 4000 plus hours as a simulator/line/base/ground instructor, TRE TRI etc bits-of-paper in my Navbag, almost 40 years as an AIRLINE PILOT, .......I HAVE NEVER EVER MADE A SINGLE MISTAKE, NEVER EVER!......
Impressive pedigree, but would you not have reprimanded any body who commenced a descent below MSA, as this crew did, just because they thought they knew where they were??
Fantome, that was a very big edit, just as well I copied that pedigree first.
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