Dave Reid & Mary Meagher:-
Precisely so. Until this morning I hadn't put too much stock in claims of an excessively cozy relationship between the IAA and FR. I can't say the same now. There was nothing in that IAA statement that couldn't have come directly from FR's
PR department. And the fact that the Authority finds FR's summary dismissal of a whistleblower, followed immediately by its announcement of an intent to sue that whistleblower in his personal capacity for damages, unworthy even of comment is little short of stupefying.
No doubt FR will quietly scuttle back from its threatened legal action, as it has done so many times in the past. I'm sure its Chief Executive has no desire to see his internal files on safety matters, etc., being dragged into open court.
Nevertheless, as I've said previously, the FR board is gambling its entire operation on the airline never having a fatal accident attributable to human factors. If it ever should, the plaintiffs' legal counsel will make hay over actions like this. And the jury will very likely respond by awarding the airline -- lock, stock and barrel -- to the plaintiffs.
Unless the Chief Executive is planning on spending his golden years in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, moreover, he ought to bear in mind that should such an eventuality arise, there is nothing in British tort law stating that Capt. Goss is the only person who can be sued in his personal capacity.