Gentlemen to say I am appalled is an understatement.
Some of the posts I have read are honest attempts to seek the truth, which I applaud, where perhaps all of us may learn something from this tragic incident, but there seems to be developing a preponderance of " legends in their own minds" pontificating on this tragedy.
Mods. I do apologise but I think this has gone far enough.
Andrew turned up on my door step around three years ago, a green young kid from the NT. My wife and I took him in and over time he became our adopted son in Sydney.
I was involved in a lot of Andrews initial training on multi aircraft. Did he receive proper and complete asymmetric training?...damned right he did..and not just the old power up clean up..an awful lot of scenario based training with the "what if question" thrown in, he was practiced and he was PROFICIENT.and well aware of the limitations of normal category airplanes.
I can honestly say I have never struck a more professional safety concious young pilot in the 45 odd years I've been in aviation.
During his first year or so in Sydney I had many calls from him out in the "Bush" asking for advise on what he should do or should not do, with a little leading he always came to the right conclusion, he never compromised safety, which made him somewhat unpopular with a few of the operations people, but the flight nurses all preferred to fly with him.
If any of you self appointed experts imagine for a moment that over the past few days and sleepless nights I havnt gone over and over in my mind if there anything I missed, was there anything I should have imparted to him then your deluding yourselves, I have, and probably will for a long time.
To you pontificating buffoons from the airline Fraternity...Yeah I agree Airline training is great for training monkeys..I spent twenty odd years in long haul airlines,all over the world. How dare you critisise GA and how dare you speculate on Andrews handling of this incident, you were not there, Andrew was, and he called it as he saw it.
My wife is a flight nurse, she flew with Andrew many times, would I allow her to fly with him again if he was here...damned right I would..long before I'd let her on an airline with some of you lot