Sad day for last captain
<img src="http://news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,3600,179495,00.jpg" alt="" />. .History in the making: Mark Littlely at Melbourne airport yesterday. Picture: Karen Dodd. . . .Sad day for last captain. .By ROBYN RILEY. .Sunday Herald Sun. .03mar02. .. .MARK Littlely will take little pleasure in becoming part of Australian history on Tuesday when he pilots the last Ansett flight into Melbourne.. .. .Captain Littlely, 39, will fly AN170 from Perth, touching down at Melbourne Airport shortly after 6am in what he said would be a melancholy duty. . .. ."I will be sad, because it could be the last time I fly a plane for an airline in Australia," Capt Littlely said yesterday. . .. .But he admitted the flight also would be very special to him. . .. ."I plan to have a ball and enjoy the moment," he said. . .. ."It will be special and I do feel very proud." . .. .Colleagues have asked Capt Littlely how he feels about Tuesday's flight and how he would approach it mentally and physically. . .. ."When I get into an aeroplane and physically strap myself in, all the turmoil disappears and I tune into what I have to do," said the Oaklands father of two. . .. ."I do not have a problem with it, I plan to just enjoy the moment." . .. .He said he hoped it would be one of the best in his 20-year aviation career.. .. ."In 10 years, when I look back on it, I want to remember this flight with pride," Capt Littlely said. . .. ."Ansett has been fantastic for me and it is disappointing to see it end in such a tragic set of circumstances." . .. .He said he was not angry with businessmen Lindsay Fox and Solomon Lew for failing to resurrect the airline. . .. ."I believe they did want to get the airline up and running," Capt Littlely said. "I can't believe they would spend so much time and effort for no reward. The feeling in the pilot group is that the Federal Government has a lot to answer for." . .. .He said if it had been Qantas in trouble, the Government would have produced its chequebook and asked, "How much do you need?" . .. ."It was lip-service to help Ansett achieve a second status. I really do believe Fox and Lew could have gone out and given it a good shake." . .. .As for the redundancy package guaranteed by the Government, Capt Littlely said every Ansett employee would give it up "in an instant" for the chance to work for the company again. . .. ."We all just wanted to stay and get Ansett back up and running," he said. . .. .Capt Littlely, who grew up in Perth, joined Ansett 12 years ago and became a captain three years later. . .. .He said he was fortunate he had been able to continue flying since the airline was first grounded last September. . .. ."Obviously I was very disappointed with the news this week that the bid to save Ansett had failed," he said. . .. ."I have gone through the anger and frustration and now I will probably let the dust settle before deciding what I do next." . .. .He doubts there will be a job for him at Qantas. . .. ."And if there was, I would have to go back to being a second officer," he said. . .. ."The Qantas system would not take me in as a captain and I would be looking at probably another 10-15 years before I got back to where I am now. . .. ."If Virgin Blue expanded, perhaps there might be something there. I don't know. . .. ."The next step for me would be to work internationally, but since September 11 there are not as many jobs for pilots, so I really don't know what we will do." . .. .For the moment Capt Littlely said he would spend some time with wife, Lucy, and their children Lucas, 3 and Greta, four months. . .. ."As of Tuesday morning I am unemployed, but I am not worried," he said. . .. ."We will just go back to Perth. My mum and dad and Lucy's parents are there and we know they will open their hearts and homes to us. . .. ."We have fantastic family support. Everything will work out.". . . . <small>[ 03 March 2002, 09:33: Message edited by: Wirraway ]</small>