by Xyn_Air » Sat Dec 01, 2007 5:22 am
Ivan,
I was just thinking the same thing (CFIT). With communication interrupted abruptly and wreckage partially on a hill that was not along the flight's normal path, sounds like off course plus CFIT into unexpected terrain elevation.
It may seem like splitting hairs when something so incredibly tragic like this occurs, but I would almost rather hear that this was due to mechanical failure than CFIT. I do not mean this in an offhand or macabre way. It's just that with mechanical failures, if the failure can be reasoned out, that knowledge can then be used to fix other aircraft, update maintenance procedures, and so on, resulting in, one hopes, greater safety. With many CFIT incidents, other than a tragically painful reminder to pilots to pay attention to what they are doing, it seems to just more leave a question of, "Why did this happen? Why didn't they see it coming?"
Sigh.
~Darrin