Bealzebub, post 50: Where did Captain Mason's act of rule breaking compromise his or anyone's safety or security in this instance?
I don't know, I wasn't there. I suppose you might argue that being fired for a breach of the rules relating to the admission of unauthorised persons into the flight deck, didn't do very much for the claimants security? It is quite likely that in other circumstances this incident would have passed by completely un-noticed. However it involved other people who presumably felt compromised by this action, and as a result it was most certainly noticed. The end result is the high profile publicity and discussion that is in part being discussed here. I don't know the individual concerned, and I am extremely reluctant to allow "Daily mail" type reporting of the events to be any part of my own personal "window on the world". I try and therefore restrict my comments to generalities that are perhaps highlighted by the public discussion generated by this topic.
When I drove home at 3 am yesterday morning down an otherwise deserted stretch of motorway, it might have been quite safe for me to drive at 120 MPH. If I had done so and been observed, that argument would have provided precious little defence to a prosecution. However the decision would have been mine, and the consequences of that action would have been mine to bear. On the other hand if I had a passenger with me, or was driving somebody elses vehicle, the potential consequences spread a little wider. It is not up to me to interpret the rules to simply satisfy my own ego, please others or even potentially compromise the safety of others by seeking to provide an inappropriate and unnecessary justification for unlawful behaviour.
There are many things that I would like to do, that do not in my opinion unreasonably compromise the safety or security of the operation I undertake. I would like to have my wife and older children travel with me on the flightdeck. I would like the opportunity to be able to offer flight deck visits on my own authority. I would like to point out to those responsible for security, the absurdity of some of their rules and
modus operandi. However The statutes, rules, instructions and procedures that I am bound by, simply don't allow me to do that on penalty of increasing levels of sanction. Even if I were to ignore the rules that I am bound and contracted to, I really have no right whatsoever to improperly place others under my command, to the same level of compromise. It is at best, poor leadership.
There are regulations governing the admission of persons into a flight deck. None of them allow you to admit a high profile football player who is a bit afraid of flying. It doesn't matter how absurd I think such a rule might be. I get paid to comply with these regulations, and I am therefore contractually bound to operate in accordance with them, notwithstanding any other sanction that a deliberate violation might attract.