Fishead,
With you 100% regarding your thoughts. It is no secret that Dick reads these pages. Why has he not responded? One of two things I think is happening here:
1. Mr. Smith has read the thread and realised he's made an absolute tool of himself and is very much so keeping his head low due the self inflicted embarrasment. Nothing more humbling than realising that one is a goose especially in the way he constantly 'puts it out there'...........................or
2. In his own 'world' he firmly believes that he is right in what he says. Although his thought process has been, I think, proven to be not much better than that of a PPL (no offence to PPL holders. Many of you would perform to a much better standard no doubt) he is adamant that he is going to have success in a court of law with his his flipant lawsuit.
I seriously think that Mr. Smith might be having some issues regarding his mentality. I find it almost surreal that he would even bother to raise such an issue with the press when almost all the professional aviation community, be it friend or foe, shakes their head in disbelief that he's carrying on over this.
Ultimately it would be to the satsifaction of the greater aviation community if he would put finger to keyboard and attempt to justify himself to all that peruse these forums.
So there it is Mr. Smith if you're listening, and we know you are, come forward and put us in the picture reference your dissatisfaction with the standard of ATC in Sydney. And while you're at it please advise why you chose the tracking that you did in your single engine aircraft from Lord Howe and enlighten us on your thoughts regarding ditching and perhaps how you can best increase safety margins reference this when embarking on a long overwater sector as you did. I hope you have the internal fortitude to respond and justify your statements to the press (if infact the press got it right and I very much doubt that they did but that's another story).
Happy days to you
Concerned Citizen
