My observations:
- · "The Empire": a coalition of true believers from various countries that see it as their duty and right to protect and defend the aviation colour perception standard, in the false belief that their actions will enhance the safety of air navigation.
- · Arrogance: an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than others. CASA's arrogance on this issue is palpable. They disdain the AAT and the law in general, as well as their immediate predecessors, namely Mr Shane Carmody, Director, Dr Simon May, PMO, and Mr Rob Walker, Manager of Stakeholder Engagement. Each of these high-level CASA staff exercised due diligence in their deliberations and endorsed the OCVA. The present regime is utterly arrogant on this point alone.
- · Zealot: The definition of a zealot is someone who is fanatically passionate about a belief. The zealots in CASA treat the colour perception standard as if it were a sacred religious belief.
- · Insouciant: showing a casual lack of concern, in this instance, for the dire consequences of their beliefs on the career aspirations of many healthy actual and aspiring pilots. We are talking about a potential target population of perhaps as many as half a million citizens who, if they inquired, would be advised they cannot be or become career pilots.
- · sophistry: using clever but false arguments to deceive or confound. In this instance, CASA's (i.e. Kate Manderson's) assertion that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" is pure sophistry. It would have us believe that no evidence indicating safe performance by CVD pilots will ever lead them to conclude that CVD is not a safety risk.
- · BS: a polite shortening of a well-known Australian term meaning lies, rubbish, nonsense, etc., etc. The posts above give many instances of BS perpetrated by CASA. Everything about this "project" reeks of BS
- ·Fraud: the fraudulent presentation on at least two occasions at aviation medical "scientific" meetings of an accident due purportedly to the pilot's colour vision defect by a senior medical staff member of the NZ CAA was a significant element in swaying the NZ CAA that there was a deep bias in their medical section. Complaints made to the Victorian and National organisers resulted in effectively no reprimand to the perpetrator. Here is the link to a report on this matter to the NZ CAA advisory panel on the topic: PMO review submission to CAA NZ
What we have now is an unholy mess. It takes us back to worse conditions and restrictions than in the 1970's. Dr Manderson and her deputy, Dr Hochberg, are true believers and have learnt nothing from the three AAT outcomes that ultimately led Director Carmody and Dr Simon May to adopt and implement the OCVA.
The purpose of the OCVA test was to satisfy a duly qualified examiner of airmen that a candidate for a medical certificate could identify the
information needed to perform a pilot's duties safely. The adoption of the OCVA followed extensive investigation, consultation, and consideration on both sides of the Tasman. Both the CAA NZ and CASA directors had face-to-face meetings with each other and the entire industry. The Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) supported implementing the OCVA unanimously.
A pass on the OCVA posed no threat of any description to the safety of air navigation, as it didn't qualify the candidate to perform any task involved in flying an aircraft. It made it possible to study, train and be tested in the same manner as a candidate with normal colour vision. Safe operation performance is a subject that medicos are not qualified to judge. This assessment falls in the domain of professional examiners of airmen.
Finally, I am not against medical standards. The safety implications of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and neurological diseases (e.g. epilepsy) are profound. A pilot having a fit, a heart attack, a stroke, or a hypoglycaemic episode is manifestly unlikely to be able to perform their duties as a pilot safely. Defective colour vision has no such dire consequences.