Sent to their death
It is sad to read the posts of Mr Dick Smith and come to the view that his assertion that the RAAF are to blame for the loss of five lives in VH-MDX is totally unjustified.
For a long time I have admired Mr Smith and what he has contributed to Australia. His refusal to accept that one person, and one person alone, was responsible for the loss of the aircraft and those aboard is difficult to understand.
In my experience I cannot recall any organisation with whom I have been associated, either Military and Civil, which did not stress that the safety of the aircraft and those aboard was the over-riding consideration at all times. No commercial consideration or other reason could justify continuing a flight if safety would be compromised by doing so.
In the case of VH-MDX the PIC had options, including returning to Taree and landing, which could have prevented this tragic accident ever happening. That he chose to continue into severe weather in an aircraft with suspect flight instrumentation and no airframe de-icing equipment is unfathomable to me. It seems clear that the wrong decisions were made by the PIC, possibly under pressure from his passengers to get them home.