The devil is in the details
The Airtex – Sky Master scrum, better than anything else serves to highlight the inherent flaws in the regulatory system as it stands. The Airtex situation is very different to the Sky Master issue.
Airtex was taking serious steps, under a strict non owner involvement policy towards achieving a very good operational culture and standards. This action is a classic 'much ado about nothing'. (You need a fine sense of the ridiculous).
Sky Master is horse of an entirely different color. It is said, that had the pilots any options other than loose a job or get prosecuted, there may well have been a different picture, other than that of a sad, sub standard, potentially lethal operational culture. I have heard (horses mouth) that two CASA officers had written information related to "trouble at the mill'', they delayed and prevaricated, then rolled over. (Marked - to be dealt with internally?).
Now, no one is going to tell CASA anything. This is a great shame. Had the culture of fear been a culture of respect then, over a coffee information could be exchanged, pointers given and the 'Authority' could, with some precision have effected safety based changes which may have prevented some recent events. Had there been an 'empathetic' authority, perhaps things would have worked out differently.
But sadly as it stands, safety based outcomes are not nearly as much fun as lawyers at 20 paces.
I hope the grown ups at CASA see that perhaps the cases need to be treated separately. Neither, in different ways make them look good. In one, they perhaps embarrass themselves; in the other, they may well be seen as part of the problem.
Last edited by Rose_Thorns; 27th Jul 2010 at 22:23.
Reason: edirorial