“At that time I was in cloud, in icing conditions and in quite severe turbulence,” Mr Smith writes.
“Locating the required chart is bad enough ... to work out that I was on the 186 degree approach, realise it was Sector B that was required , and then do the stepping down in accordance with that chart is complex — especially when flying single pilot in such weather conditions.’’
I dunno - surely none of this was a surprise? Surely, as a well-prepared and experienced pilot, you'd know what weather to expect, what ATC services you'd be receiving, and what type of arrival you could expect to be flying? Surely you'd have the chart readily to hand, and you'd have had a think about the arrival and what radial you'd be inbound on before you even departed? And surely, if you'd done your preparation properly (as Dick presumably did) and decided that any of this posed an unacceptable risk to you and your passengers, then you wouldn't be there in the first place? Or am I being unrealistic? Not saying that ATC services in Hobart couldn't possibly be improved (after all, there's virtually nothing that couldn't be improved), but I really don't see the issue here for a pilot that's done his or her homework before departing.