Forget legal, how about moral?

[transonic dragon]

I must say that up until recently I haven't copped any heat for canning a flight due weather or unserviceability. Sorry to say that a couple of months ago I was threatened with my job by the owner of the company after reporting a fault in the aircraft which required a ferry flight under CASA permit. Legitimate problem, but I was expected to "carry" it. No way, dude.

I'd always thought I would have no qualms about walking out on a job where this sort of crap went on, but it's most definitely a different story when you're confronted with it for real. I think there's no doubt that your career would suffer if you left over these sorts of incidents, no matter how well you could justify your actions. The dodgy operators (ie most of GA) stick together, and would always believe the word of a fellow shonky owner over a humble liney (ie don't touch this bastard - he's a trouble maker). It's one thing to get on one's high horse and say that Capt X should just look for another job, but it's just not that clear-cut, particularly for the low-timers who have just cracked their first job, or for those like me who are just cracking the twin time. Of course, we pilots are part of the problem too for not taking a united stand, but let's be honest and accept that that will never happen in GA.

The other part of the problem is CASA, which not only tailors the rules to cater for the lowest common denominator - ie the minimum possible equipment for IFR, rather than realistic safety - but is also clearly against the pilot as far as reportage goes. I recall a time when CAIRs had operators running scared, and there was a definite improvement, if only in morale of the drivers. Now the confidentiality is gone completely, and the pilot is branded by CASA for reporting incidents, because you're always assumed to be complicit with the dodgy operation, no matter how well you can cover your butt. With the voluntary self-report system we have now requires dates, times, aircraft rego, etc and is published on the internet for god's sake. Confidentiality/anonymity is absolutely gone, and the dodgy brothers love it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've looked into it, and it seems that this is the case currently (ie confidential reporting a thing of the past). It's a sad story which has been going on since the advent of commercial aviation, and the poor pilot is still in trouble no matter what.