AA
But, and it's an important "but", there were times that I "asked" for the "fun" to be racked back
I am sure the young man in the back on this flight was just the same as you, only he hadn't got to the point of asking for the fun to be racked back.
Now here is where you have your head in a bucket AA
and I have flown with pilots that can "put it to the dirt", (for a better way of putting it) So you were actually on occasion doing exactly the same as this crew! Only problem was that whilst this guy could 'put it in the dirt' he came unstuck on one occasion and it cost dearly, you were lucky., that I have loved to fly with - right down to one pilot doing the "Western Highway Shuffle" who told me "You have the left" referring to the instructions he needed to keep the disk from hitting the trees on the left side as he made the lowest pass he could along the entire highway, (you'll understand I'm sure) and you allowed him to do without telling him to knock it off? Do you know just how bad this makes you sound AA . But all those "antics" were done "professionally" Utter S**t, Bolleux and wa*k.
There was no "Top Gun Yeehawing" now you are losing your memory as well AA! I do not believe for one minute that you flew down the western highway, a few feet from trees either side without either of you "yahooing or yeehaing'. I have done the Western Highway, and in company with me, anyone else here that has done it will know 100% that you are lying. I guess you think you did the Eastern Branch without yahooing as well don't you.? and such... Just a pair of men, (sorry ladies - there were none in the SH force back then), exploring their limits and in every case we deferred to the side of safety What, with you having to clear the left whilst doing 140Kts down the Western Highway? Wake up! Had the pilot had to instinctively move left to avoid hitting a large bird on the nose, the two of you and anyone else down the back would have been food for jungle worms! because, let's be quite honest, none of us were trying to die Neither were the crew of the aircraft on this thread
I believe that the crew in this case were far from the type of crew I knew Nope! Just the same AA, only they had more operational experience than you.
Can you honestly say that, back in the early 80's. (or since),you have ever flown any task where the intercom sounded like the published excerpts did in this case? yes, but thankfully there were no CVRs and the quotes were from different movies (Monty Python, The Young Ones, CaddyShack etc etc)
Now a reality check for all those 'old and/or bold SH guys' who have laid in to the crew on this tragic sortie. I bet a pound to a pinch of rocking horse sh*t that you have done similar at some time. I cringed when I first heard the CVR on TV, not because of what was said by this crew, but because I have heard similar many times before but luckily when CVRs were not in the aircraft. The crew pushed it to the point that lady luck stopped smiling, and when you screw up at that height then it is going to end in tears (remember that AA when you recall your trips down the Western Highway to your mates over a BBQ). If your hair is not white AA then it would be if you watched what these young guys have had to do on Ops in Afghan and Iraq.
Seldom will also receive no hammer and nails from me. The number of times the crewman down the back had said to me 'Sir just got a note from the grunts that says 'bet you can't make us sick'! The thing is I KNOW it was the same for you AA.
What do we learn from all this? Feel sadness for the crew, passengers and families, learn why it happened and avoid it happening again where possible. And on reflection AA perhaps instead of remembering yourself as the consummate professional in the past, you will re-assess and realise that you exhibited similar behaviours, you were just luckier, and before you slag the crew off, think about where you are in 'the chain' in terms of responsibility for this accident. You bear some responsibility for this AA, as do all of us in the SH force. Every instance of flying indicipline over the years that has led to the 'pull up a sandbag, swing the lantern' stories of "hee hee when I did the western highway/eastern branch blah blah etc etc' has been passed down the line like a genetic handover from father to child, and this time it went wrong. So just think if all those years ago, when the Pilot going down the Western Highway said 'you have the left', had you told him, 'sod off sir, pull up to minimum authorised height and MSD and do not put my life in jeapordy', and had I done the same, along with countless other crews, then maybe this tragedy would not have occurred. But you analyse this accident as a crotchety old man, and forget what you did as a young man, which on occasion was the same as these lads. I think if many of us look back on our SH flying career, one thought that comes to mind is 'There but for the grace of God go I"
Now stop bleating on about your standards AA, because your post above displays that you didn't have as many as you might think.