@Desert Camel 'In-House Doctor's recognise it'
So, the long and short is that the Companies don't give a f*ck about safety and pay lip service to it and have it in place to satisfy the regulatory requirements.
Thing is, though, are the in-house Dr's being reckless/negligent by not reporting this or doing anything about it? Or is it thought of separating from big-bucks overseas contract that puts them off? Or perhaps, nasty airline who will ignore just culture and give them the flick at the first sign of not towing the line......is this the same case for the pilots?
Obviously, a lot of pilots have shown their cards by 'voting with their feet' BUT are those that stay and accept these conditions also negligent? (Ref: James Reason) And again, what is the motivational factor for so-called 'professional' pilots to accept a working in environment that they know to be fundamentally unsafe? (especially given that they may be the next pilots involved in the incident/accident which may result in their own death) Is it money/contract/bond preventing them all from leaving? Or is it sit tight to get the hours to move on? But again, that aside, fundamentally, if you know something to be unsafe, shouldn't you as a pilot have a professional and moral responsibility to say 'no'? Just because something is legal doesn't mean it is right or safe, agree? Isn't it really the pilots, not the management, that ultimately hold power in the Companies (after all, no pilots = no flying)?
Before people jump all over me, I am posing questions and discussion points here and not necessarily saying this is my opinion but my analysis seems to point in these directions....interested to know what others think.
And finally, is this a sad reflection of the culture of modern aviation? (I think ICAO with its SARPS and GASP is all bullsh*t! from tossers that are totally out of touch with reality - bunch of lawyers who've never sat in a cockpit!)
Just as a reference from my own experience I was flying for a charter company in Africa with similar issues and we (pilots) very nearly pulled off a 'coup' against management as they had too few pilots, not enough trainees and plenty of work and just as we were about to win, the economic downturn came, the work dried up and we were told accept the existing contract or don't let the door hit you in the ass! - of course, the work drying up, ironically, cured many of the problems!