I wish I’d never started flying as a form of recreation. What pisses me off is the risk of losing my house, fortune, reputation and freedom to travel from the one risk that cannot be managed - CASA.
Physical risks are known and manageable through time honored techniques of preparation and training, what cannot be managed is regulatory risk.
There is ample evidence for what follows in the form of the Forsyth Review, AAT transcripts and court proceedings as well as anecdotal evidence on prune. There is no legal way of managing regulatory risk - which has the potential to destroy your life and family.
The regulatory risk is the result of a combination of factors;
- The regulations are so complex, convoluted, contradictory, prescriptive, byzantine, arcane that I defy anyone to fully understand even a fraction of them - and I have an engineering degree, MBA and have survived in the top levels of business without trouble yet even I cannot make sense of this rubbish. What’s worse, neither can CASA staff which brings me to the next issue.
- Inconsistent interpretation. At least according to Pprune, the regulations are so bad that they require “interpretation” by CASA staff and the interpretation varies according to the interpreter. This then raises the little matter of corruption; when there are two or more possible interpretations, CASA staff can suit themselves which one they choose - to the delight or dismay of the pilot concerned. This is just plain wrong. But even that would be bearable were it not for:
- criminal penalties and strict liability offenses. Aviation offenses against regulation are defined as criminal offenses - meaning all of them are felonies (ie: you get a criminal record if convicted) they are not something like road traffic offenses or littering most of which are misdemeanors or civil matters. Being labeled a felon has consequences. You cannot travel overseas, your employment and other social options are limited. But even this is manageable if CASA was not demonstrably capricious and unfair.
-CASA model litigant? According to evidence CASA adopts a win at all costs regulatory strategy. This means that once a target is selected, a witch hunt ensues, looking for multiple offenses to “get” the quarry. I confess now; my logbook will have arithmetic errors in it, my torque wrench is uncalibrated, my tyre caps are missing- People have lost their livelihoods over such matters.
- But even this is bearable were it not for the fact that CASA writes the rules, then interprets, enforces and decides on punishment itself. If these functions were separate, the blizzard of “please explains” between the various functions would result in rapid simplification of the rules just to preserve the sanity of the staff. Instead the poor bloody pilots and engineers have to put up with this insanity.
I have spent the best part of $75,000 on building an aircraft. I am yet to face registering it and getting a certificate of airworthiness. Despite my best efforts by definition it would be possible to find non compliance’s somewhere, somehow. I am also up for a flight. review, medical and ASIC renewal with associated costs and I now doubt my sanity in learning to fly in the first place.
There are some who say “don’t worry, she’ll be right” but that’s not what the regulations say. I didn’t build a career on “she’ll be right”. What is destroying my sleep at night is the thought that I may be unwittingly contravening regulations in building registering and flying this thing and there seems to be no way to manage the risk of punitive action by CASA, and of course “strict liability” offenses precludes the defense of making an honest mistake.
Dick Smith is right; get out now. If you are contemplating flying for fun, take up golf or yachting instead.