Has this slipped under radar?

[anti-skid]

:oh:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/0,2106,2540071a6442,00.html

[Dan Kelly]

What a Richard Cranium!!! :rolleyes:


For convenience the article linked above is reproduced below.

www.sundaystartimes.co.nz



N A T I O N A L N E W S S T O R Y





Flight safety adviser set to have his wings clipped
15 June 2003
By DEIDRE MUSSEN

An Auckland flight instructor and safety adviser has admitted careless use of an aircraft by turning off its master switch during a scenic flight, disabling its engine monitoring gauges.


David James Rouse, 22, who advises Tauranga-based airline Sunair Aviation on safety issues, has pleaded guilty in Waitakere District Court to carelessly using a Cessna 172 and using an aircraft trip log to obtain a pecuniary advantage. Both charges related to a scenic flight he piloted for workmates in Auckland in February last year.

Civil Aviation Authority lawyer Claire Ryan told the court Rouse turned off the Ardmore Flying School plane's master switch during the flight, which stopped the aircraft hour meter, used to work out the charge for hiring the four-seater plane. But it also disabled the plane's safety monitoring gauges.

"With these engine-monitoring gauges rendered inoperative by the defendant's intentional actions, it removed a number of important safety warning indicators that could have potentially indicated the onset of an engine failure situation - for example an increase in oil temperature, a decrease in oil pressure and/or low fuel indication."

It also inactivated the plane's radio, meaning he had no two-way communication with other aircraft in the area.

While the flight time was about 2.7 hours, he intentionally documented it in the aircraft logbook as a one-hour flight, the time he paid for.

However, Rouse documented the longer time in his pilot's logbook. Once the flying school discovered his omissions, it was referred to the CAA. He paid the outstanding $306.60 for the longer flight and extra landings the following day.

Rouse, who holds a commercial pilot's licence, said he turned off the switch because it caused an annoying squelch from the aircraft intercom. He discovered it deactivated the hour meter only when the flight ended.

"I'd known plenty of instructors - my seniors - who had turned masters off in flight for a quiet ride. I didn't realise there would be any penalty for it."

He said he turned on the master switch at five-minute intervals to check all the safety gauges, ensuring it was a safe flight.

Rouse admitted he had realised the hour meter had not recorded the full length of the flight but had planned to discuss it with the flight school the following day. However, the school contacted him with their concerns before he had the chance.

He will be sentenced on July 14.





:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[anti-skid]

This certainly is one for the books, is this chap really
only 22 and a safety advisor!? If so, did he only realise
switching off the masters rendered the meter inop once
the flight ended? c'mon. The fact he thought it was ok
to do as his "seniors" do it highlights a whole new raft
of issues. I just hope this isnt a of "do as I say not
as I do"


:suspect:

[Hugh Jarse]

Nice try on his behalf.

Kind of reminds me of the culture prevailing at T*m*ir during the time leading up to it's demise....Or so the Coroner's report says...

[Kermit 180]

Is this the same DR that flies the SAR C182 at Ardmore?

Kerms

[kev2002]

YIP

Does anyone know if this will result in DR being grounded?

[Colonel Blink]

Suppose that'll mean job movement on the food chain...

[chunkylover53]

is this the same guy that was once affectionately known as
"rat boy"??????

[jamup]

Yes he is the chap who is flying the Coastguards, ,,, hope he will remember the master switch ,

[randyduck]

I find it strange that this surprises you, and more bizarre that such an article should be based around something that i found out about 17 months ago... roughly when this incident occurred?? If only I'd known this would make headlines... I could've sold the story. Are our news reporters that far behind? time to start 'hearing it now' on newstalkzb i think!

P.S. anyone know his wherabouts or how to track him down? I think I may be able to help him here...

[Audi Mate!]

randy I agree, I heard of this a long time ago and dont really know what the delay was in the caa or ardmore doing anything about this. I introduced myself to this guy last christmas because he was the only person I'd seen do a perfect landing on this particularly rough day. when I realised who it was I immediately formulated an impression. Show off. It wasn't until I watched him in action over a cup of coffee that I realised there was no 'show off' but more 'model pilot' - of whom I was to be honest, slightly jealous not just of his landing ability but of the intelligence which shined like a halo from him. Here in NZ we are shockers for creating the 'tall poppy' environment. I have been one of the worst offenders of shooting down people myself. After reading this article however I just had to put my views somewhere... the herald and star failed to print my letter to editor as usual. DR puts other people first, and this is why he is one of the few tall poppys I can show any respect for. He is one of the few instructors who insists on having a clean windscreen and pumping up tyres that are down before flight. I personally wouldnt fly with him as I'm too impatient to sit and do a 1hr pre-flight inspection (I have plenty of faith in engineers), however I would happily send my kids for a flight with him... and I'm a highly protective father. If anybody knows his contact he will know who I am please let him know there are plenty of pilots gunning for him.

[Junior Senior]

Yes, I would expect exactly this. He appears to still be working at origin, judging by the names / signatures on some documents I happened to notice... I would say he's another sir Ed Hill, and Mt Everest has just presented itself on his back yard.

[Thump & Go]

DR fined just under $1000 in court costs & suspension of licence for 3 months.
Suspect that these are fairly light compared to what something like this will do to your rep come interview time.:(
As I understand it he has resigned from jobs with coastguard,Sunair and Origin.
Check back a week or two,there's a thread elsewhere along the lines of "switched off pilot" (cant remember exactly) with more thoughts.

[Duff]

Well he's still at Origin so I'm not sure if he has resigned. Why would he be forced to resign from working in the bag room at Origin due to what happened?

[Junior Senior]

have to agree with Duff here. I dont see why he needs to resign from any of his jobs, and it appears that in fact he hasnt resigned... so what is fact here and what is foe? Apparently he is excelling in all the jobs he holds, so there is really no reason for resignations... does he just want to live out of the tax payers pocket for a while and kick back??

[Audi Mate!]

I havent seen him around the airport, so I guess he's not interested in any ground instructing... I've heard he has actually resigned from everything he does, in order to protect his employers from any possible future bad publicity... he was seen boarding a plane to noumea by a colleague 2 weeks ago... has he returned??

[no_HANDLE]

DR wasfound by CAA to NOT BE a fit and proper person therefore was forced to resign from Sunair.
However I do agree, this a small industry his career is prob stuffed but he shouldn't have to resign from any of his other jobs.
His last day at Sunair was sometime this week from what the grape wine told me.

[ALLBLACK]

Peopla are made out of flesh and blood so why cant we get rid of this story and carry on with life , yes he did the mistake and thats it , if he is a good pilot ( I think he is ) then he will get a job , we should not assasinate the charactor over and over again just because he did this mistake

after all We all learn by mistakes.

Prop

[randyduck]

Allblack, May I add since last night I have managed to get an inside glimpse. A fit & proper person check was actually briefly performed before he was accepted by CAA as a senior manager, air transport operations. At the time there was hesitation due to this incident, but he had the experience, proven success, and scored highly on his qualifications needed for the job so the history was forgotten - conveniently.

Considering most of the industry know this story, it will be the first question he is asked in any future interview. Fortunately some of those people are also aware of his skills & potential.

I'm sure this topic is now dead

[BattleSTARGalatica]

Is this the way to get known in New Zealand Aviation? Rather stay in my little rat hole thank you.

[Thump & Go]

Agreed Randy,this subject is dead and was dead a week before this thread breathed new life into it(see D&G GA 15th July)!
I would suggest it became "headlines"here(sooo late in the piece) because the court case had just finished and become "headlines".

Interesting to note that CAA thought DR was fit & proper before the punishment was handed down despite prior knowledge of the incident,yet now he is not??

AB-"mistake" ??? a rather generous metaphor for what occurred.
What this amounts to is under recording flight times,no matter what the intention was(a cheaper flight) which I guess the authorities view seriously-ask CityJet.

Keen to here the conspiracy(sp?) theories JS.

I think the reasons why you may be "forced" to resign are quite obvious-in an industry based on public confidence the last thing you want is you company's name being associated with someone accused of unsafe practices.We all saw the news report-no emphasis on the fact he was basically trying to make his flight cheaper,just the fact that he "disabled the A/C's radios and engine-monitoring safety systems"
I know Sunair were none too happy to see their name in the article alongside their safety/QA assessor's!Origin were probably pleased no mention was made of DR's input in their Route Guides etc.


Phew! just relised how long that was-must go nap now
:)

[flyby_kiwi]

Coming from non-pilot pax. of his in he past he is apparently excellant at flying the a/c but at the end of the day there is more to being a pilot than stick and rudder and here is an example of that.

Anyway - back to the JS conspircay :}