Down and welded, I am not qualified to judge the pilots actions. What sickens me are two things:
- that the pilot was shafted by ATSB and continues to be shafted by CASA.
- The learning opportunities presented by this accident have been absolutely and totally squandered by both CASA and ATSB. The only "meta lesson" (the lesson you are teaching when you don't think you are teaching anything) is that there is no justice for pilots if you are caught making a mistake.
Here is the thought that keeps me awake; suppose Dominic had got in and landed on his fourth approach. Would we have heard about it? Not likely, Now considering Dominic James treatment since the accident, how likely is it that other pilots are going to report incidents if they can get away without it? That is the problem with the CASA (RAAF?) punitive culture - it prevents active learning.