Originally Posted by
Bob Viking
I think your definition of aircrew and mine differ somewhat. In the military aircrew are defined as those that are employed in a role undertaken onboard aircraft. You are therefore considered aircrew when you are walking down the street or buying a pint of milk. She was not aircrew. Experienced passenger yes, but not aircrew.
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I can’t keep banging on about it because it’s not really relevant to the conversation but you seem to think you know best when, in fact, you may not.
BV
BV, you and cncpc seem to be in violent agreement! You both say she was not aircrew .... all cncpc says is she could have been a PPL or even a glider pilot. The point cncpc makes is that could have made her a bit more aware of things going on during that fateful departure.
I was exactly the same before I left the Mil to fly commercially. I was a Spanners in the Mob, but also had a PPL and was a glidist. I was never aircrew so, if people asked, I simply said "I'm not a pilot in the Mil but I do have a PPL". That fact also got me lots of stick time when on jollies for which I'm really grateful to all those kind aircrew who invited me to have a go! Flying a Hunter low-level towards a ship? I could not believe my luck - so my thanks to the Hunter jock who I was fortunate to fly with. Clearly he liked my efforts at GH while in the transit a bit earlier.
Whenever I was fortunate enough to bag a trip, and being someone of a curious nature, I was definitely taking a great interest in what went on just for my own education. So while poor Capt Casey may not be expected to be looking at things, if she was anything like me she may well have had a go flying the things quite a few times (assuming std dual-stick config) and, on hearing a bang on climb-out, is quite likely to have been starting, informally, to work out what it was.
I was once sat goofing out a window in a Sea King when I noticed sparks suddenly starting to appear from above and ahead. I got as far as saying "Gents (there being no ladies on board) I think we have a problem....." when there was an almighty BANG! After the boys got established in the single-engined cruise one of the back-seaters laughed and said "Tell you what, I've never seen Spanners move so fast!!!". It was about 1.0005 seconds from me kneeling looking out the window to me being strapped into a seat near a door just in case we'd had to do an Auto into a field if it was more than just a donk giving up on us.
So I was never aircrew but I sure took a keen interest in what was going on, particularly if I thought it affected my health and wellbeing!
Oh, and the views were out of this world!!!
Cheers, H 'n' H