There's probably a really good lesson in this for GA pilots, and hopefully a coming paradigm shift in that part of the industry...
By that, I would suggest that Mr Richardson and his pilot colleagues have some serious questions to answer for operating these aircraft with these known defects. Mutual liability, and all that jazz, and the "Nuremburg Defence" they might offer should not be allowed to stand...
It is worth noting that maintenance cannot fix problems that are not reported to them (correctly) and although I do not assert for one moment that Barrier are innocent, I have seen on many occasions aircraft get flown by pilots with defects because the pilot "doesn't want the delay" the rectification would cause, or have to make the effort to change aircraft. Also, it is a common pilot mindset in the early career phase to just "hope I don't get caught out with this until I've got my hours up" - which doesn't help the issue.
Barrier are an example of a company that has evidently gone too far down the dodgy path and their demise perhaps sends a message to the other GA operators that they need to perform better than this. The pilots should also shoulder some blame and get a message - have the courage / discipline to manage defects / airworthiness standards correctly using company procedures and it should never get to the "dobbing to CASA" stage - pilots do have an obligation to be loyal to their employer, which often is difficult if they are recalcitrant, but companies will fix their airplanes if no one will fly them.
There are enough mechanisms in place to protect pilots (AFAP, FWA and yes, CASA) who set and maintain standards. But the best thing to protect pilots will be the correct safety culture - but as is often the case, pilots are their own worst enemy and there is no shortage of those who will fly dodgy aircraft just to "get their hours up"...
But nothing in this excuses Barrier - DK is an experienced operator - and it ultimately falls to him to ensure the viability of his company, the safety standards maintained by it and to have the integrity to do what is right. Through this, he might have been able to keep safe the livelihoods of those who entrusted a phase of their careers to him.
Last edited by Flying Bear; 16th Mar 2013 at 03:55.