I spent a couple of years in BASI and then the ATSB and had the opportunity to review and do some investigations involving helicopters at night.
The one thing that struck me was that often, the organisations did not fully comprehend what they were trying to acheive. They weren't clear about what they wanted, then fund, equip or train their people to do what they were doing. There often weren't strong supervisory aspects and much of the operations seemed like a good idea at the time without much appreciation in depth of the hazards the organisation or crews were facing. Rarely was there any true intent to do things less than the best way...more of not knowing what they didn't know.
Unfortunately, the result is often felt by the crew doing a mission or worse still, the patient. The industry really needs to establish universal minimum standards. No point waiting for CASA because it is under numerous pressures from different quarters. Is this something HAA should lead?
Just some thoughts.