http://https://youtu.be/Wbu6X0hSnBY
This guy - Harry Lordings, an ex USAF test pilot has an interesting presentation on VMCA. He's pretty critical of the ATSB investigation into the EMB 120 accident at Darwin suggesting that the ATSB did not understand the concept of VMCA.
He is suggesting that the Darwin accident was really caused by deficiencies in the aircraft manufacturers flight manual.
Lordings says that despite the pilots following published procedures and speeds that that the accident occurred due to a practice engine failure below the actual VMCA. He says that the aircrafts speed below VMCA is demonstrated by its lack of ability to maintain runway heading, since that is the very definition of VMCA.
The Essendon accident shares with the Darwin accident that a straight flight path was not able to be maintained despite the airspeed being significantly above the published VMCA.
Let's hope that the ATSB do a better job of engine investigation than the Whyalla accident, a better job of considering asymmetric issues than the Darwin accident and a better job of deriving airspeed than the Bankstown Mojave accident. For that matter the ATSB investigation of the engine issues of the Bankstown accident was superficial at best.
Whatever happened; the only pilots that think they would have dealt with the emergency better than Max are fooling themselves. There but for the grace of god....