Safety Case
Are you really trying to say that the crew do not have the responsibility for the safety of the Pax and AC.
Any pilot who needs to be told that unimitaged, dangerous and reckless wazzing is not allowed should never be permitted access to a flying machine.
I do not accept that the culture in the RAF would support the behaviour of this pilot (though being ex Army it is tempting to do so) but I do think that the key to this issue lies in the outcome of the coroners case.
LACK OF ADEQUATE SUPERVISION such that the tendencies of individual crews to be reckless are identified before they cause harm.
Ultimatley we sign the tech log and take control of the helicopter. What we choose to do with it once out of sight of the Chief Pilots office is what seperates the the Professional from the Unprofessional.
Whilst there may be some supervision issues that need addressing (and I am sure the will) the prime causal factor of this accident was a nut loose on the end of the cyclic.
Taking unecessary risks alone is bad enough. Taking unecessary risks with the lives of our passengers without their consent is criminal.
Those poor passengers would have enjoyed the flight right up until impact because they would have placed their 100% trust in the guy flying. The fact that he not only proved himself not worthy of that trust, but worse, left a damning and detailed legacy on the CVR just makes the thing a whole lot worse.
CVR data is there to assist the investigators as to the cause of the accident. If you have nothing to hide you should have nothing to fear. It has nothing to do with reporting incidents.
In this extreme case I think the release of the recordings can only benefit anyone else with similar disregard for airmanship and safety who might otherwise continue to rip the ring out of their aircraft and any trusting soul fool enough to cross their path.
It is better out. Better for the families who have suffered and better for the greater good of helicopter aviation.
This guy has embarrassed us all. But he may also have saved the next sap from making similar stupid mistakes. If the recording was not released, occupying the publics conciousness and ours albeit for 15 minutes, the impact of the accident would have been lost.
Every cloud has a silver lining!!