Originally Posted by
heights good
A sentence in an MAA by document does not make Cabin Crew aircrew in the conventional sense. They are crew, sure, but they know nothing about flying or aviation. There is a reason that actual aircrew do extensive ground school and Ph2 training. All of this after 4 days of selection with a really high failure rate.
Much the same could be said for 30's SAC a/g. His day job was as Ground Crew in much the same way as Voyager CC's is as Mess Staff. The a/g's became aircrew in their own right and the ground trades they left behind had to be filled by others. I couldn't agree more that professional aircrew need to be professionally trained. Indeed CC could be but the start of a career in other RAF Aircrew specialities, but first and foremost they start as Aircrew in their own right.
In the meantime the RAF is once again out of kilter with its own Air Regulator, a position that seems to fit quite comfortably in some peoples minds but graphically illustrates the powerlessness of the MAA. A Regulator should regulate and have its Regulations fully complied with. Unless and until UK Military Air Regulation and Air Accident Investigation is made outwith and independent of the MOD and of each other, avoidable accidents and needless deaths will continue to happen.