Grnd Power
I hear what you are saying and understand your angle. I don't agree with it and neither does the Coroner. Hence the title of this thread.
Quiet simply the management knew he was not NVRF rated and out in the sandy desert area I would assert that at night without a moon it is more like IFR conditions, add some Cb's etc.
The Chief Pilot, Op's Manager, Boss of the Air Support should have said, "No Way you are not qualified". They didn't and 4 people died simple as that........
The fact that he stuffed up the fuel management could be attributed to the fact that he was operating well outside his legal entitlement and experience capabilities. To have made it that far without the training is probably attributed to dtermination,ignorance and or pure luck.
Management took a gamble, threw the dice and lost. I am willing however to bet that if saying yes in this instance would have involved the risk of a jail sentence, the Pilot would not have left the ground... Crash avoided.
I am not talking here about a mistake that the Pilot made which caused the loss of the aircraft.... that is an accident.
What I am talking about is that the Police management KNOWINGLY transferred a Pilot who was not qualified to operate in NVFR of IFR conditions to an area where it is an absolute necessity, was of sub-standard according to the now Civillian Police Chech & Training Capt who prior to the crash refused to issue him a multi-engine endorsement on the grounds of incompetence. The Management KNOWING all of this then authorised the fatefull flight and then when it crashed jumped back and blamed the Pilot, who can't defend himself.
If the Police are not going to obey the rules, then what chance is there for the rest of the industry.
SAFETY LIES WITH MANAGEMENT SETTING A STANDARD AND THE REST OF US UPHOLDING THAT STANDARD. Once this is acheived no Pilot need worry about saying NO because the Management have told us to uphold their own standards.
I say again, Maybe because all the victims were Police, that makes it different. No further debate, pay the victims families compensation and push it under the carpet.
Enough enough said.