Max. In my 30 plus successful, challenging, very rewarding and mostly very enjoyable years in the aviation industry in the Pacific, Asia and Australia, it was always the same, everywhere - rumour and innuendo used in an
attempt to destroy competition. Your comments don’t offend me in the least; I've had competing operators dump cr@p on me by the truck load - it's all water off a duck’s back!
I've taken advice and direction from the regulator’s competent professional employees to the betterment of the operation I managed at that time. I've also taken on the regulator’s vindictive and incompetent employees and won, on more than one occasion.
I do not have any knowledge of the incident posted by natbanger, however natbanger
appears to have first hand evidence of possible collusion or corruption and on the balance of probabilities – and my knowledge of CASA FNQ office culture – is more than likely correct. The CASA system and culture protects and promotes the less competent CASA staff, whilst generally demoralising and isolating the competent and skilled CASA professional employee. If I’m reading the current CASA picture correctly, the Group Captain’s Club is being revived within CASA and will protect it’s members.
“Stress leave” seems to be endemic in CASA FNQ staff. I recall on one occasion a reply to my very detailed response to a ludicrous, flawed and vindictive Show Cause was delayed as one of the FOI’s was on “stress leave” – although I was able to locate him painting his block of units. I now find two CASA Townsville FOI’s are on “stress leave”. There have been a number of other incidents of “stress leave” being granted to CASA FNQ staff. If a CASA FOI is unfit for work due to stress, I suspect he/she is medically unfit to hold a commercial pilots license, thus medically unfit for employment as an FOI.
I suspect if a private sector commercial pilot were required to take “stress leave” his license medical may well be suspended and difficult to restore, however I remember one CASA FNQ FOI who flew commercially whilst on stress leave.
There is no accountability in CASA generally, nor can one expect any changes in the Townsville or Cairns office vindictive and discriminatory culture and credibility whilst the present manager remains.