Originally Posted by
Democritus
Being a long time retired old codger, for what it's worth I'm 100% behind 212man. Having spent 27 years on the North Sea I made damn sure my bum was on the circle every single time I landed offshore whether I was sure the tail was clear or not. I bet the crew of a S61 back in 1990 thought their tail was clear of obstructions when landing on the Brent Spar. Sadly they and 6 of their passengers died not knowing why it went horribly wrong.
A comment was made recently during my training for the Advanced Driving Test because I always signalled my intentions even though being on a country road no traffic was around. My response was that it was standard for me - I was signalling for the guy I hadn't seen and the point was accepted. SOP's - do them whether you think they are needed or not. They were created from other people's experience. Learn from them rather than learn from your own mistakes.
Thanks Democritus, as a trainee old fart I look up to the genuine thing.