Sir George, one of the many benefits of being an ex-pilot is that I no longer have to pay the Dane-Geld to the CAA. We all have had call to grumble, or worse, about one aspect or other of their operation at various times. That is all I ask of the MAA, for there is no panacea to be gained here, merely the avoidance of avoidable accidents and the needless loss of lives.
The airlines, as the principle paymasters of the CAA, may well have influence, maybe undue influence, but has it affected the CAA's most basic responsibility of ensuring the safe operation of civil aviation within UK skies and of UK registered aircraft everywhere? Military aviation is of course a different beast, but it should at least enable crews to close with the enemy, or carry out their operational task, without spontaneously blowing up, losing control, or not having the most basic defence against minimal enemy action.
All of the above pertains to air accident investigation where the independence to criticize anyone found at fault, be it crew, operator, or even regulator, is called for and exists in civil aviation in the guise of the AAIB. These are the fundamental requirements too of military aviation. If the MAA and the MAAIB are finally made free of the MOD, and of each other, then no doubt these threads will still abound with grumbles about both of them. We can only look forward to that day, when there will be members posting on this forum who might otherwise lie buried, with full military honours, instead.
Last edited by Chugalug2; 19th Sep 2012 at 08:10.