dragon69
I think we're in agreement on most points of your last post.
The principle issue is indeed wheter the CAD had the authority of approve the flight outside the FTLM. The safe conduct of the flight was never in doubt by either the Capt, the Company, or the CAD. The crew were well rested, and there would have been at least 8 airports within a hour or three of each other enroute with company support should a diversion be required for any reason. All things considered, safety was NOT an issue.
I however, disagree with your analogy of the janitor and the Airbus. To equate an experienced FOI with a janitor is a disservice. Bear in mind, on any given day, we all operate to rules and regulations approved by this FOI and his team so to now comapre his decisions to that of a janitor in Airbus, while giving impact to your views, is contentious at best and smacks of selective bias.
The FTLM is indeed a document based on years of experience and industry best practices but here again your arguments seems selective. By your own admission, there are patterns that are extremely fatiguing, and yet we choose to pick on this one off flight rather than those operated on a daily scheduled basis to drive home the safety argument. I cannot comprehend why this particular flight should be more an issue than those other ones.
Last but not least, back to the principle issue, does the CAD have the right to approve a one off against the FTLM? This is a legal argument. Safety does not come into it. The Capt accepted the flight based on his years of experience and conducted it to the highest standards given the circumstances. Period.
From a legal argument perspective, in all jurisdictions, rules and regulations are enacted to constrain undesirable behaviours. There is clear purpose and a method to this apparent madness that allow the world, as we know it, to function unhindered. Accordingly, when a situation arises that does not contradict the purpose, deviations are permissible. The test of reasonableness is applied as it was in this case.
As fellow professionals in aviation, we should all resist the temptation to use the safety argument to futher agends that have little or no bearing on the principle issues at hand. If we do this often enough, it will loose its meaning and may well come back to bite us in the end (no pun intended)
