Gaunty:
The PIC is the PIC and carries the considerable responsibilities of the privileges of his/her license. Whether Private, Aerial Work, Charter, RPT notwithstanding regulation is not relevant. The passengers and the crew deserve the same duty of care.
Not so fast, we have heard this before and it isn't necessarily true.
The problem is known as The double bind problem" and it is well known and frequently deadly, as it almost was in this case.
A double bind exists for a person when the formal rules and regulations they are expected to work to are totally at variance with the informal rules and regulations of an organization. That leaves the employee, like James, totally exposed when there is an accident because they have not complied with the formal rules but the informal rules.
CASA and ATSB have dutifully ignored the informal culture of Pel Air and instead hung the pilot out to dry.
As has been stated elsewhere I believe, strict application of relevant fuel planning principles by a competent chief pilot would have meant that it was
impossible to use the Westwind for this mission. But the Westwind was used, so we have to ask the question that the ATSB and CASA studiously ignored: are the operations manuals for Pel Air adequate? Apparently not according to the secret CASA audit.
So now we get to the question, assuming James followed Pel Airs manuals to the letter, would he have been safe? apparently not.
That begs the question: what would have happened to James had he got up on his hind legs and told the CP that he was in error as evidenced by the less than stellar Pel Air documentation? whAt would have happened if James had then lectured the cp on the correct fuel planning technique and announced that he would ignore the manual and employ a better and correct procedure instead?
What would have happened to James if he had decided to bring the manuals shortcomings to the attention of CaSA?
What would have happened to James if he told the CP that this flight was just too dangerous in the aircraft concerned?
That's right Gaunty, every single one of those courses of action finishes with D. James out on the street and another dumb schmuck at the controls of the Westwind. Pilots are just like everyone else, if they aren't supported in the pursuit of safety, let alone undermined, they can and do make mistakes.