Originally Posted by
Pittsextra
Jon I think that this element is the key to the issue. Once you get away from having healthy debate with those willing to have it about flight safety there is inevitably going to be some form of enforcement of rules and here the situation in this accident the trail goes cold.
Early on the question was asked of someone who was reflecting an exchange he had as an AOC holder with the CAA. The silence is deafening.
It would seem quite logical that if individual pilots and flying clubs as a whole have identified things that go on that have raised concern - which include things they have identified online - it is reasonable to assume that authority would also have access to that information. As has been stated on the basis authority has not been taking pilots to task - I can only find the Manchester PA28 pilots who has been taken to court - don't you conclude that authority don't see this as an issue? Because the alternative is that someone has been screaming very loudly at Gatwick to do something for years and nothing has been done.
I agree with the analysis, but think we need to be careful how we address it.
Perhaps understandably, the problem only seems to get the attention of the authorities when there is an serious accident. This also applies to licensing issues where there is no illegal charter such as the Colin McRae helicopter accident where he was found not to have had a valid licence.
I suppose that the problem is that deploying the level of resources needed to police these things thoroughly in a pro-active way would both be expensive for the authorities (who would end up paying?) and, given their talent for incompetent bureaucracy, cause a great deal of inconvenience to the vast majority of clean pilots. Perhaps we should probably be careful what we wish for.
All that said, a couple of exemplary penalties for those caught breaking the rules (and anyone facilitating that) would surely help.