Originally Posted by
Pittsextra
I'd like to think that should I decide that my personal transportation requirements dictate that I need to employ my capital to such a level that the very least I could do is follow that sound practice...
Pitts, you or I would but people who have that much
nous don't always think like that.
The uber-wealthy don't think like us or we would likely be that wealthy too, wouldn't we? Having built for several I can assure you that most are extremely cost-conscious (just with larger numbers than us) and most want some things their way no matter the cost or the rules involved.
To them, rules are only suggestions to be worked around. I believe that this was a situation where he wanted his heli operated this way. The trees weren't trimmed or removed, the heli was where he wanted it to be, and the 'hole in the trees' looked big enough to him so it must be fine no matter what anyone else thought. Anyone who didn't like working in that situation quickly gets replaced by someone else. He made bad choices, some pilots tried to please him too much by pushing the limits too far and he got used to that; then the last pilot got unlucky when all the holes in the cheese finally lined up. The holes were always there and
some were intentional, no matter the cost or the rules. It is the way the world is to them and because of that, this kind of thing will always happen with some regularity.