PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Senior Australian army pilots accused of being cowboys
Old 2nd Jul 2008, 01:38
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Trojan1981
 
Join Date: May 2005
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All the Army people on this forum probably know that there have been many more unreported incidents and accidents over the years. Sometimes 'cowboy' flying has been to blame (eg. CAPT "Death" from many years ago) and sometimes operational requirements have pushed personell beyond their limits (both air and gnd crew).
There is a tendency to push the envolope in all areas of the Army, not just aviation. How many LR110s and Mogs have been rolled, injuring and killing people because the drivers wanted to show off their 'skill'. How many UDs and NDs occur due to gung-ho weapons handling in peace time and how many maintenence mistakes have been made on helicopters due to fatigue or other pressures on peacetime EX or non-warlike operations.
When completing the old Army Y12 cse, an aviation (maintenence) WO2 told me that they had no duty time/fatigue limitations. He said they could be put in a gun pit all night and then expected to work on helos the next day, without any sleep. I don't know if this is true but this would represent an unnesessary safety risk in peacetime.
Army culture, and an effective aviation safety culture, seem to be at odds with each other. I realise I am about to be rubished by those who believe we should "harden up" and fly into battle with bayonets between our teeth but I am speaking from experience. I have had friends and collegues killed while serving in the Army and Navy, including in helo crashes, none of them due to enemy fire.
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