Evilroy – you want me to make a statement that says the RAAF did absolutely nothing wrong and in fact assisted in every way in getting VH-MDX a clearance.
Well, I won’t be making that statement because it would be a lie.
For a start, if the military airspace had not been active that night or had not existed in that location, the pilot would have cruised down the coast in good weather conditions and arrived safely at Bankstown.
The only reason the pilot was forced inland via a point called “Craven” was because the military-enforced regulations at the time stated that pilots could not flight plan over Williamtown. That meant the Willi Controller had no information that MDX was heading in his direction and wanted a clearance. That restriction remains today – that is, no-one is approved to file a flight plan from Coffs Harbour overhead Williamtown if Williamtown is active and that means aircraft today are forced inland towards the Barrington Tops.
Have you noted that the Willi Controller knew that the aircraft desired a clearance, but rather than take the holding the Pilot decided to head via Craven then to Bankstown. Have you noted the Willi Controller did not inform anyone when the aircraft turned to the west and flew at 90 degrees to the required track heading over the Barrington Tops towards Scone?
Yes, I know you will say, “it was nothing to do with the Willi Controller because the aircraft wasn’t in his airspace”. So, just let five people go to their deaths…?
Evilroy, I can tell you I will not give up until I have this ridiculous restriction removed from the Regulations – that is the one that pilots filing a flight plan south of Coffs Harbour are prohibited from flight planning over Williamtown if it is active. This is an outrageous restriction that clearly substantially reduces safety and will lead to yet another similar accident as aircraft are forced to the west into the mountains.