I guess as an owner-pilot at Biggin, I must put in my 2p worth.
I have operated an Aztec there for a while now and while there have definitely been moments when the one frequency is rather frenetic, I have never, never, I repeat never experienced a time when I have felt that safety has been compromised.
There have been times when I have been gob-smacked at the ability of the controller to stay on top of so much traffic. Sometimes it has literally seemed super-human that one person can process so much information so accurately, so quickly, and make so few mistakes (usually, I must stress, none.) And this in an environment of such diversity, from R22s and Enstroms, to 150s, to moths to fast singles, faster twins and much faster jets.
I am sure that if the controllers felt that it was unsafe they would voice their opinions to The Mad Controller, and he (whom I have know many years) is a careful, thoughtful man, as much a pilot as a controller (YAKs I believe?), and would act.
It is also their butts which are on the line. If they fall short of their duty of care and the result is a death they risk not only their livlihood but even their liberty.
OTOH, if Big Hilly feels, as an aircraft commander, that a situation that threatens the safety of the aircraft and pax in his care has arisen, he too has a duty to take action.
Let us see through his rather emotive (and arguably unhelpful) language to the message behind it. It is not only his own life, but the lives of hundreds of others that he feels obliged to protect, so give the guy some air to make his point, if he feels that this is the best place.
I can understand his reluctance to talk to TMC directly (though he will find him to be a charming and receptive man) but there are many other routes open to him, from CHIRP, MOR, quiet phone call to the CAA.
If the CAA asks me, I will tell them that I do not perceive there to be a problem. But if they find evidence that there is a problem they will act accordingly.
That's what a no-blame culture of safety is about.
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W