Chris, I’m amazed with your comment:
Somewhere along the line we need to get back to better pilot training and cockpit disciplines before we start asking controllers to fly the aircraft for us.
Not at any stage did I ask the controller to fly the aircraft. I simply believe that if we are going to spend over $300 million (some claim $600 million) on a radar system, we may as well use it as another safety net.
All pilots, including professional pilots, will make human errors. Of course, air traffic controllers will do so too. However, surely it is obvious that if we have procedures which allow “checking” to take place, accidents may be reduced.
There is no doubt in my mind that if better procedures existed or if Class E airspace had been introduced in the Benalla area, there would have been less of a chance of this terrible accident occurring. Surely you must agree with this.