There is probably no single ‘smoking gun’ to explain the energetic efforts to blame the PIC of NGA alone.
The Mildura event merely exposed dysfunction in BOM (and to some extent the ANSP) and accordingly the regulator. It was mostly luck that there was no hull loss and injuries or fatalities. So pretty easy to use the ‘move on nothing to see here’ tactic.
The coin having fallen the other way on 18 November 2009, the PIC of NGA exposed fundamental flaws in:
- Australia’s Pacific neighbours’ flight services
- BOM
- Australia’s ANSP
- the governance of an external Australian territory
- the operations of a politically-connected air operator, and
- the regulator’s oversight of the air operator.
This around the time of the FAA audit.
Very, very inopportune circumstances for a pilot to make a mistake. Way too many embarrassments.
The subsequent attempted whitewash managed to expose the increasing dysfunction in the ATSB.
These factors (and Australia’s airport infrastructure) are why Australia’s international reputation is that it is the only third world aviation nation in which you can safely drink the tap water.
Naturally, in the Orwellian world of 21st century government, all these organisations have to pretend that they’re doing a great job and ‘punching above their weight’. FWGJAU!
Coincidentally - purely coincidentally - the governance arrangements for the external Australian territory in question were, subsequent to the ditching, changed, and YSNF coincidentally - purely coincidentally - reappeared in the Area Forecasts for Area 20.
I should note that I’m not criticising any individual. I’m not criticising any individual who provides air traffic control or flight information services, or weather forecasting or reporting services, or individual investigators or operations or airworthiness inspectors. What’s at fault is the busted organisations in which they work - organisations that as a whole are now much less than the sum of their parts.