Originally Posted by
Stuart Sutcliffe
Steady on. Whilst Council Van may have 'meandered' a little with his wording, I believe his intent was that David Norris, an experienced pilot, qualified in Instrument flying, already having pushed his luck in going below MSA in poor weather, should have made an earlier decision to climb to safety.
That isn't hindsight, that is applying the knowledge and requirements that make up the responsibilities of holding an Instrument Rating. The accident is a tragedy, of course, but there seems nothing to suggest that it should have been inevitable. For a pilot with that experience and those qualifications, this was sadly, but easily, avoidable.
"The study argued that rules may be easy to apply when circumstances are clear-cut but more difficult to apply in marginal and uncertain circumstances where they might have the most benefit. In summarising their study, the authors commented:
‘The results suggest ... high uncertainty and dynamism constrain rule-based response, leading to rules becoming vulnerable, fragile or failing completely.’"