This should link to the page over at D&G GA
Coolac thread at D&G GA
This just brings up the ABC report
ABC Report on the Coolac incident
This incident emphasises the changed world we have to live in since Sept 11.
I don't know what happened at Coolac but consider this for a hypothetical.
One day, returning from a job, an unsuspecting pilot hits his smoker button at cruise height to acknowledge one of his mates/ clients, who looks like he's giving a property tour to some people .
You know how it works. " Hey, I see you down there." We've all done it.
Unfortunately the people on the ground aren't who he thinks they are and they (not unreasonably) feel they are being targeted in some malign way. They complain because they don't KNOW what the substance is. Also perhaps because our
PR isn't what we'd necessarily like it to be and we've done such a good job of keeping our heads down, all Joe Public knows about us is that Al Qaeda wanted to use ag-planes to spread anthrax. For this reason the authorities are required to treat reports of 'rogue cropdusters' very seriously and apparently there is very little room for them to move. They HAVE to set the anti-terrorist response wheels in motion. You can see how this apparently innocent and well meaning gesture would get totally blown out of proportion. There's nothing else the authorities can do.
So the next time you think about 'smoking' your mates on the way to or from a job, ask yourself if you need the grief this poor bloke(and his operator) would get.
PC BS? Absolutely! But unfortunately a new fact of life.