Cooda
Ahhh Amman.
I can hear it like it was yesterday, Meeke on the other end of the phone, apoplectic, saying "What the........and who the ..........are they?".
Good question??
We put the tentacles out and got there before most and it wasn't pretty.
I well remember a conference call with the innocent unfortunates who had agreed to finance the venture had Amman been succesful, (and let's face it, on the face of it who wouldn't) who were then trying to get a handle on what it was, that they had got themselves in to on the choice, age and type of equipment etc. :o
There were many loooooong silences, followed by the usual, "really", which in OZ translates into "I don't believe you/it" or "tell me it's not true", sharp intakes of breath and general bewilderment.
To give them their due, buoyed up by the fact that the contract and organisation had been given the big "tick" from the Customs Dept Assesors and the DCA "experts" or whatever they called themselves in those days, they proceeded, perhaps more cautiously. Who needs enemies when you have Government friends like those. Mind you I suspect that they were desperate for a change, any change.
Having said that it was a...............nah, it couldn't have been a conspiracy to make sure that they never went near anyone but Skywest again........................????
Meekes subsequent behaviour may bear some scrutiny and it could be said was the beginning of the end for them, but, the resultant enquiry did bring some benefits and shone a very bright light on the competency and processes of some of our hitherto "accepted experts".
To be fair, the gutting out of the Civil Aviation mob had been under way for a bit with "the dabbler" in full cry.
It would have made an hilarious G & S opera containing big gobs of slapstick and high farce, were it not so serious and involve the protection ? of our borders.
The rest of the world and the bad guys were falling off their chairs laughing.
And anybody who owned one of the 73 clapped out 690s still on their wheels suddenly could believe that there might be a God indeed.
I wish I could find the magazine article by the journalist who was invited along, describing the "delivery" of one of the 'crates' that was supposed to be 'flying' to our aid in border protection.
Whatever, it delayed the present methods and fleet mix introduction many many years past, when it should have been and which eventually came out of that fiasco.
If you were going to make the movie, who would you cast as the characters?
Amman
Meeke
FBI
Security guards
The Fat Man
His mate the PM
Rupert
The Financiers
Used 'crate' salesmen.
Customs guys
DCA guys
Minister for Customs
Minister for Ag
Minister for Civil Aviation
Other tenderers
Assorted bad guys.