I have never flown in Antarctica personally but I have operated many missions in the mountains of the arctic which I was trained for by the military.
I have rarely seen in aviation such a weak and obfuscated argument as that which Vette, Mahon, and NZALPA pumped out to excuse the crew of their part in this disaster. The crew could and should have noticed where the company flight plan was taking them. The chart they were given along with the 'flt plan' showed the track going direct to the TACAN for heaven's sake. OTOH if Collins had indeed plotted the track on a chart procured by himself - of which Mahon was certain based only on the flimsiest testimony of the Collins family - he should have noticed that the aircraft was flying a full 4º off course by the simple expedient of looking at the effing nav display. Never mind all this nonsense that Mahon went into at some length about not being able to see this or that island along the way or the ludicrous suggestion that it was reasonable to misidentify the one they most definitely did see - the 2500' high Beaufort Island. None of that btw should excuse the company and the regulator of their many shortcomings or their lack of contrition before the Commission.
I cannot be sure that I will not one day make a fatal error. But I can say with absolute certainty that it will not be because I laboured under the silly conclusion - alighted on by Justice Mahon - that given a nav computer as accurate as on that flight (and exceeded nowadays by the common or garden ipad), a pilot can dispense with the duty to verify the route entered is as expected.
Last edited by oggers; 21st Jul 2016 at 14:41.