Poor, poor HE. All these people picking on him!
Maybe the silence has been broken coz those of us who have been around Darwin for more than 6 months are ASTOUNDED at the outrage and bleating of the 'HE supporters.'
A haze of unreality surrounds this reaction. Not unlike reading about a burglar being upset at copping a beating from the person living in the house he broke into!
Someone asked for more stories. OK, try these..
A long time ago at an aerodrome far far away...
"All stations Nooker, Chieftain ABC taxiing for Brute Island, runway 11 copied NMQ"
"ABC, gidday, NMQ crosswind runway 11"
"Ah, mate, can I taxi out?"
"If you're quick"
"OK, thanks"
A minute or three later
"NMQ final"
no response
"Mate, NMQ final, you planning to roll or what?"
"Just finished my mag check, won't be a sec"
[#$%##$%! What!!]
"NMQ going around!"
a moment later...
"You should have extended downwind, mate"
"You shouldn't have entered the runway if you weren't ready to go, MATE!"
"Good bushpilots don't do their runups over a loose surface."
Outstanding! What airmanship! I really learned a lesson that day!
Or can our man remember that other splendid example of pilotage....how not to do an instrument approach...
"Didya see me?"
"Didya see me that time?
"Hey boys, how much fuel do I have left?"
And did I mention the mornings entertainment you gave the Kendell boys when they visited to conduct interviews late 2000?
Or playing to the greed of those Ngukurr council members that owed Gulf Air up to $2000 each by getting Mario, the most inoffensive man you could ever meet, kicked out of the community for being a disruptive influence!
Or seeing all those sunburned and freckled anglo-celtic pilot faces collecting CDEP as wages?
If it wasn't real life, it would make a great movie!
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Hiball asks: For goodness sakes is that how we want the regulator to act?
If i am not up to the job, i might not like it, but i would EXPECT the regulator to take my licence away. End of Story.
The rules are there to protect the poor uninformed sods who pay for airplanes to take them somewhere.
Right from the beginnings of commercial aviation in the 1920's men like Hudson Fysh and Norman Brearley understood implicitly that for aviation to be accepted as an industry, it must be as safe as it can possibly be. From them and from some talented original aviation administrators, there evolved an exceptionally safe and disciplined australian aviation system that used to show the world how it should and could be done.
People like HE are not part of that tradition. They are NOT good pilots. They may have some basic technical skill, but they show NO respect for the system they work in, are ignorant of many aspects of airmanship and the regulations, and are motivated by self interest and move through the day with a bullishness that gives scant regard to their responsibilities to their pax and their community. When under pressure, they don't stand by principles -- they cheat, lie, pressure others, scam and dodge to get through the day. NOT good pilots. Hardly even qualifies as 'persons of good character."
So how should the regulator act? Keep the good guys on their toes. Protect the fare paying public. Knock the shonks, the also-rans and the incompetent on the head, quickly.
If that is an unsurmountable obstacle for you, maybe you shouldn't be in this industry.
Last edited by ITCZ; 23rd Sep 2003 at 10:21.