PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Pilot error 'led to Puma crash' in Iraq
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Old 9th Dec 2009, 15:24
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Occasional Aviator
 
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Sorry, but I'm not entirely convinced by
It was said by the pilot of the Puma that he would have considered the craft to be un-airworthy if he had known that it had an inoperative anti-spill valve.
Given the operational imperative and the pressure on crews to deliver in this environment, I don't think this statement can be anything other thna speculation at best, and clutching at straws at worst.

Clearly this was not a causal factor in the crash, but a contributory factor to the consequences. Yes, it is wrong that the documentation did not reflect the state of the aircraft and that the chacks hadn't been done - but I think these are probably indicators of problems rather than problems themselves. I feel very sorry for these crews, who are doing their utmost to deliver but on a shoestring in terms of both equipment and training - and that probably goes for the engineers too. I would be looking not at the pilots but at the hierarchy that put so much pressure on the force.
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