Thu Sep 08, 2016 9:52 am
#1483017
2Donkeys wrote:Cub wrote:The whole situation is then compounded by another flight being conducted in IMC, making another series of very surprising decisions given the nature of the flight and circumstances.
Could you elaborate on this?
Factors that should have been considered by the pilot of the M20:
1. The flight is a Training Flight and by definition is always going to be a lower priority than normal air traffic.
2. An IFR flight plan to operate within CAS was submitted and apparently rejected or lost in the system. Presumably, either an acceptance of the flight plan was received and then Southend did not have the flight plan or the flight plan was rejected. In either case the pilot had to then make a decision to operate the flight outside of CAS with knowledge of the forecast/actual weather conditions. It would appear that, whilst still on the ground, the pilot could have chased the flight plan in order to conduct the flight as originally intended.
3. At some point the 'instructor'(?) elected to give pseudo 'radar vectors' to his/her 'student' to simulate the type of service they anticipated when planning the original flight, but with no knowledge of what these 'vectors' would bring them into conflict with in IMC.
4. At some point the M20 crew will have been made aware that a radar service was not available from Southend and at that point had the opportunity to consider a range of alternative options given the anticipated/actual in-flight conditions. I am considering remaining inside Southend CAS/returning/Farnborough LARS/Thames Radar all of which could represent a significant mitigation to the risk of operating IFR in IMC outside of CAS.
5. Having fortuitously, been given radar derived traffic information under a Basic Service the pilot had the opportunity to request a different service, an update on the traffic, self-initiate a turn away.
Given all of the considerations and opportunities above I find it very surprising that none of the 'barriers' to prevent a mid-air collision appear to have been deployed.
Cub