Originally Posted by
sarabande
It's sad that no-one on his legal team vetted his speech. "I will remember for the rest of my life"
And the eleven members of the public and their families ?
Hills has clearly suffered as a result of the accident where he admits in that same interview that he lost control of his aircraft. If there is any probability of truth in his counsel's claim of cognitive impairment, then Hills cannot be regarded as fit to fly again, and I hope that he does not get his flying licences back. That will be immensely sad for him, but will prevent him from losing control of an aircraft at any time on the future.
He is clearly a talented and clever person with a lifetime commitment to service and commercial flying, and losing the freedom to fly will lead to a massive change in his life style. Despite all the praise from previous employers and flying colleagues, there are black marks against his display record, and sufficient evidence from experts on the Shoreham flight pattern to show that the aircraft was not under full and proper control. Perhaps he has lost the mental and physical ability to plan and react in the last few years in the way he used to do when in the RAF and with BA. It is not sufficient for former colleagues to rally round and say what a wonderful pilot he was, it is up to the CAA to assess what sort of pilot he is now before considering re-issuing his licences.
Would you want to be flown by someone known to have had cognitive impairment while pilot in charge ?
Would the poor guy want to fly again? I wouldn't if one person was killed, as the result of an accident, while I was at the controls of the accident a/c concerned.
5aday. Re your post #132. Have you ever got anything wrong?. Ever screwed up?
Monarchman. Excellent post.