Originally Posted by
cncpc
If some people, including very experienced helicopter pilots on this forum, can't agree that this is just a VFR transit layout for pad to pad flights, then it isn't difficult to see how this crew, unfamiliar with the area, and in the dark of night and weather, didn't understand that this route meant for a helicopter taking off from Blackrock and bringing maintenance people back to Blacksod, or vice versa, can't be patched into at 200 feet.
I think you may be right in what you are saying about the route guide. It seems to answer a lot of questions as to why they ended up where they did.
Please excuse me if my questions sound silly but, as they were flying from the east coast, would there have been an option to enter "approach Blacksod east" and, if so, would that still have brought them out beyond Blackrock?
Also, the following is the conversation that some people are referring to when they say Capt. Fitzpatrick thought they were already at Blackrock when they were overflying the smaller islands near Blackrock:
Co-pilot : Ok so small target at six miles eleven o'clock Large out to the right there.
Commander: Just a small little island....that's BLMO itself.
To me it actually looks like the commander is responding to both parts of the statement as there is a pause within her answer - the small target is "just a small little island" and then possibly pointed to Blackrock as the large target.
Perhaps they did see a flash from the lighthouse in the distance just at that point in time and flew towards it without, as seems to be now apparent, knowing the height?