Originally Posted by
Sbaker
All I'm gonna say is..
This NT operator, who I am sure I have a good idea who it is.. runs under AOC, and so needs (or I am sure tries very hard to) comply with rules and regs.... They also have a business to run... Now talking about stress, imagine if you ran a business like that in the NT, and just had to deal with the last 2 years of COVID **** (it's affected a lot of people - but tourism mostly!)... Financial stress is real stress (as most pilots should know) - now imagine your business you have setup over years and you have a bunch of employees who are relying on you to keep afloat and pay their wages while your income is savaged.
Pilots rarely think of the business side... Too busy busting a nut over flying a 210.
Now imagine a **** company, with **** wages, **** attitudes.. and absolute contempt for rules because it doesn't come back on them ... Due to being classed as a private operation (no AOC that can be pulled) - try skydiving... And now the APF is a self governing body, that company can run its own little protection racket...
Not defending (knowingly) operating above MTOW... But... Let's look at the practicalities here:
- loaded F100 full of WA miners flying up North.. uses standard Pax weights (88kg?)... Haha, those miners would be more like 100-120kg... So I can tell you right now, those planes are overweight.
- if you do a ferry flight you can operate 15% above MTOW for extra fuel.. (with permission?)
- The extra weight is rarely a structural concern - except for maybe landing? it's more about meeting minimum climb gradients with S/E piston.. anyway, NT is flat..
- How often do you include that 10kg tool box or whatever in the nose? Or your iPads?.. or you bag?.. your 2 litre water bottle?.. your lunch?.... Guess what, if you have operated to the "MTOW" to the kg and didn't add these items you have flown it over MTOW.
...I mean, if you drink a litre of water before your flight... You have made yourself 1kg heavier!.. your known weight has changed!
Anyway, again - not justifying knowingly operating above MTOW (such as skydive company changing weights on paper/computer to make it "go green" so you have to dodge trees at the end of the runway near York without telling you).... That's a different story...
Now for the night time argument...
You can taxi at night, but you just wait till "first light" before you can "depart."... Now what's the definition of depart?.... Is that when you punch the throttle to head down the runway?... Or is that when you are more than 3nm from the airport?.... Or what about when people "depart overhead" the airport..... It's not defined - and this is the issue with subjective legislation.... For instance, if it was written - "before you apply power for the take-off" that is much clearer... I know what we may see as reasonable or what we think is the intent of the rules - but CASA have very deliberately written them in a way so they can do legal aerobatics and twist and contort it anyway they want - to suit whatever agenda they have on the day.... I'll give you an idea at how stupid this is... CASA cannot even give an explanation on taxi time... They cannot agree wether it's engine start to engine stop (even though it's written as when the aircraft moves under its own power for take-off)... Even that could be interpreted as only when you are lined up on the runway ready to punch it !
If my little aviation venture "takes off" (pun intended) I will be looking at a 4 day on, 4 day off work week for my employees .... Fatigue and 'burn out' is a genuine concern these days.. but it's also nice to be able to have a life.. and it would also allow to have flexibility with rostering.... Say someone is sick for a day, I should easily be able to get someone in to do an extra day..
I have worked In the NT, and yes it is a busy ramp, I do not know the particular circumstances of these alleged incidents - and do not wish to speculate... However my observation is that most pilots do not know the nitty grittys of the AIP / Jepps - one thing I am very thankful for was to be drilled in the Jepps... Where I had to "know my ****" - and my colleagues (on the metro) would still know more than me, which was mind blowing....
Also you are all forgetting just culture... It runs both ways, do you honestly think someone would purposely start an engine with someone's head next to it? ..I don't know anyone who would do that deliberately.... And so I find that extremely doubtful - as such, people make honest mistakes, and it's definately a 2 way street, if I approach a machine (wether it's a 793 haul truck, Terex 4400 .. 9600 digger... Or a Cessna 150, a baron, a Metroliner...) LOOK at the cockpit to see if anyone is in there and get their attention before going near the spinny things... And the person in the cockpit may just have a glance to check the area is clear - BUT then their head may be inside the cockpit looking at oil pressure for the first 15 seconds of startup - I know how much an IO-540 is to overhaul.. if I owned that engine that's where I'd be looking too!!)
Some valid points, however, I would argue the financial stress of the owner/owners and knowledge of business should not be a concern to the employee pilot, if they wanted that stress they'd start their own business or be in management.
And, yes I definitely know someone willing to start a 540 in that situation. It doesn't matter when daddy is paying for the engines 👍