In my previous post I suggested sticking to full autoland rules/MEL in order to be bullet proof in terms of any comeback from management/authorities.
Plus, even more importantly, you'd be guaranteed to be safe - belts, braces and safety pins.
[BALDRICK]I have another cunning plan[/BALDRICK] :
If my first scheme was'nt possible, could they not have at least burnt to Max Landing Weight and stopped off at a non-rainy airfield close (or even not so close - better than dumping) to the original route for a new blade. They must be fairly easy to obtain (the blade, not the airfield).
(I've no idea where the airfields mentioned are, so maybe that's not practicable).