MERGED: Pilot alleged to have sabotaged engines on his rival's aircraft
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Call for urgent report on pilot
CHRIS McMAHON, Townsville Bulletin
January 28, 2017 12:00am
A FULL review into how North Queensland pilot Josh Hoch, 31, got away with his alleged offending for so long has been ordered by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
Federal Transport Minister Darren Chester has also called for an “urgent briefing” from CASA into the explosive case of alleged plane tampering in Mount Isa.
Josh Hoch, 31, was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in Mount Isa and charged with 342 counts across 14 offences, including tampering with aircraft, dangerous operation of aircraft and fraud, allegedly committed from 2013 through to 2016.
Mount Isa Magistrates Court heard on Wednesday that Hoch had allegedly tampered with his competitors’ planes on five different occasions to win commercial contracts and had flown members of the Katter Australia Party around North Queensland, including Bob Katter spending $257,000 on chartering flights with Hoch.
Mr Chester yesterday asked the country’s aviation watchdog for a report into all aspects of the case and investigation against Hoch.
“Given the serious nature of the allegations I have requested a full report from CASA and an urgent briefing on all aspects of the investigation,” Mr Chester said.
“With legal proceedings underway, I’m not in a position to comment any further at this stage.”
A CASA spokeswoman said they had launched their own review into the dealings they have had with Hoch, their investigative process and auditing process.
“CASA has launched an internal review to determine whether any significant safety-related issues involving Mr Hoch and the operations of Hoch Air were, or ought to have been, identified and acted on prior to launch of the police investigation and the arrest of Mr Hoch,” the spokeswoman said.
“We are currently reviewing our records to inform such safety-related action as we may need to take now, and to ensure the integrity and sufficiency of our entry control, audit and surveillance activities. Should we need to, we will look more closely at any aspect of our regulatory functions should additional attention be required.”
The spokeswoman said CASA needed to have evidence to act on, rather than unsubstantiated claims of actions.
“It is important to remember that, like any other regulatory authority, CASA is only able to act on evidence that tends to show there has been a breach of the regulations, not on unsubstantiated claims of such conduct,” she said.
“It would be premature for CASA to comment further on this at this time.
“We will not comment on the criminal allegations against Mr Hoch.
“These are matters before the court and any questions should be directed to the prosecutorial authority.”
Hoch walked from Mount Isa watch-house yesterday after posting the $50,000 surety he failed to produce when given bail on Wednesday.
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Mount Isa pilot accused of $254k MP fraud
HUNDREDS of thousands in taxpayer dollars may have been paid to alleged fraudster Josh Hoch, with a court hearing Kennedy MP spent $257,000 on chartered flights with the pilot.
Prosecutor Sergeant Vaughan Cooper yesterday detailed Mr Katter’s expenses with Mr Hoch, at his bail application for more than 300 offences.
“The offences the defendant faces are serious, not only those five offences (tampering with aircraft), but also the offences of fraud,” Sgt Cooper said.
“Your honour will note the defendant using, without accreditation, aircraft to fly the honourable Bob Katter without the correct accreditation.
“Allowing him to pilot and receive payment for these charters and that will be alleged your honour is some $257,000 and I do round that down.
“The case against the defendant regarding those matters is strong.”
Bailed Mount Isa airman
According to documents from the Department of Finance, Mr Katter claimed more than $53,000 on chartered flights in the first half of 2016 alone.
The Kennedy MP is given a large travel allowance, particularly for charter flights, to traverse a massive electorate that is bigger than some countries.
Mr Katter would not comment when contacted by the Bulletin over the charges against Koch.
“As this matter is now before the courts it would be inappropriate to comment,” he said.
Senator Ian Macdonald said he would take up industry regulation concerns with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester.
“I will certainly be following this up with the Transport Minister … I’m quite confident he has already been briefed but this is clearly a matter for the police and CASA investigators to report to him with any recommendations of any new regulatory action,” he said.
“I’m very curious in this instance how this has not come to their attention previously … CASA should have been leading the charge rather than police.”
CASA plunged into chaos
Herbert MP Cathy O’Toole said it was necessary to look further into the current level of oversight after the arrest of Hoch.
“Questions need to be asked, and answers provided, about what officials did and did not know,” she said.
“How can this happen surely needs to be the question. The real issue is that we have absolutely no certainty that incidents of this nature are not falling through the gap.”
Interesting observation - If you know the article heading, Google seems to be able to by pass the pay wall?
Mount Isa pilot accused of $254k MP fraud
HUNDREDS of thousands in taxpayer dollars may have been paid to alleged fraudster Josh Hoch, with a court hearing Kennedy MP spent $257,000 on chartered flights with the pilot.
Prosecutor Sergeant Vaughan Cooper yesterday detailed Mr Katter’s expenses with Mr Hoch, at his bail application for more than 300 offences.
“The offences the defendant faces are serious, not only those five offences (tampering with aircraft), but also the offences of fraud,” Sgt Cooper said.
“Your honour will note the defendant using, without accreditation, aircraft to fly the honourable Bob Katter without the correct accreditation.
“Allowing him to pilot and receive payment for these charters and that will be alleged your honour is some $257,000 and I do round that down.
“The case against the defendant regarding those matters is strong.”
Bailed Mount Isa airman
According to documents from the Department of Finance, Mr Katter claimed more than $53,000 on chartered flights in the first half of 2016 alone.
The Kennedy MP is given a large travel allowance, particularly for charter flights, to traverse a massive electorate that is bigger than some countries.
Mr Katter would not comment when contacted by the Bulletin over the charges against Koch.
“As this matter is now before the courts it would be inappropriate to comment,” he said.
Senator Ian Macdonald said he would take up industry regulation concerns with Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester.
“I will certainly be following this up with the Transport Minister … I’m quite confident he has already been briefed but this is clearly a matter for the police and CASA investigators to report to him with any recommendations of any new regulatory action,” he said.
“I’m very curious in this instance how this has not come to their attention previously … CASA should have been leading the charge rather than police.”
CASA plunged into chaos
Herbert MP Cathy O’Toole said it was necessary to look further into the current level of oversight after the arrest of Hoch.
“Questions need to be asked, and answers provided, about what officials did and did not know,” she said.
“How can this happen surely needs to be the question. The real issue is that we have absolutely no certainty that incidents of this nature are not falling through the gap.”
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And once again, the Australian bail system shows up its major deficiencies. A person charged with multiple charges, several of them with life imprisonment as the potential sentence, and with numerous charges being attempted murder on a repeated basis, is allowed to roam freely, with the only restriction having to report to a police station daily.
What is to stop him from carrying out more attempted murder? He could decide he has little to lose and could easily carry out another Colin Richard Forman style of attack on his competitors.
What is to stop him from carrying out more attempted murder? He could decide he has little to lose and could easily carry out another Colin Richard Forman style of attack on his competitors.
Last edited by onetrack; 30th Jan 2017 at 10:12. Reason: correct spelling of name ..
The guy is a bad egg and deserves more than he will possibly get but I think the Townsville Bulletin is drawing a long bow in suggesting that he is guilty of defrauding the government of 254K. Presumably he operated the flights for which he was paid notwithstanding he was improperly licensed and Katter, being the local member, may well have engaged him for no other reason than he was a local operator running an apparently legitimate, local business.
I think the Townsville Bulletin is drawing a long bow in suggesting that he is guilty of defrauding the government of 254K
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Without wNting to appear precious or pedantic, can I suggest this guy and his lawyer are probably monitoring any discussions about the case which might be argued as prejudicing a right to a fair trial or even contempt of Court.
It's good practice to talk about someone "appearing" to be of a particular character type and discuss their "alleged offences" rather than categorising them as fact.
I've now pulled my head in.
Kaz
It's good practice to talk about someone "appearing" to be of a particular character type and discuss their "alleged offences" rather than categorising them as fact.
I've now pulled my head in.
Kaz
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@onetrack actually he's not roaming free. The court set bail at $50,000, which wasn't raised, so the alleged offender remains incarcerated precisely because the court considered him a flight risk.
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jenesaisquoi - The information I read, provided by the news media, was that the $50,000 bail request wasn't posted by the close of the court on Wednesday 25th January - thus leading to Hoch staying in jail overnight - but the $50,000 was posted by his family on Thursday 26th, and he has been released on that bail.
See the last paragraph in this article below ...
Call for urgent (CASA) report on pilot
Behind a pay wall.
To access the media article Google: Call for urgent (CASA) report on pilot
Tail Wheel
See the last paragraph in this article below ...
Call for urgent (CASA) report on pilot
Behind a pay wall.
To access the media article Google: Call for urgent (CASA) report on pilot
Tail Wheel
The fact that he is "charged with" rather than "found guilty of" limits the action that can be taken until the matter is finalised in court.
Charges relating to terrorism wouldn't be to far of a stretch given the potential consequences of an aircraft crashing in a populated area.
CASA have previously been deficient in dealing with rouge operators such as Barry Hempel, but I can't believe they would turn a blind eye if they knew of deliberate sabotage.
Charges relating to terrorism wouldn't be to far of a stretch given the potential consequences of an aircraft crashing in a populated area.
CASA have previously been deficient in dealing with rouge operators such as Barry Hempel, but I can't believe they would turn a blind eye if they knew of deliberate sabotage.
Last edited by Metro man; 2nd Feb 2017 at 00:02.
Rouge operators are usually tolerated. But if they start with the mascara "to" ...
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"CASA have previously been deficient in dealing with rouge operators such as Barry Hempel, but I can't believe they would turn a blind eye if they knew of deliberate sabotage."
casa have a looong history of "Questionable conduct", their access to unlimited funds protects them .....period.
Very, very rare occassions they quietly "settle"
casa have a looong history of "Questionable conduct", their access to unlimited funds protects them .....period.
Very, very rare occassions they quietly "settle"
Queensland aviation workers charged with fraud
From the interweb... Why isn't CASA all over this one and have him in Jail/Goal already ?
An outback Queensland pilot accused of tampering with planes and causing permanent head injuries to an engineer has also been charged with fraud.
Josh Hoch, 32, and a 34-year-old woman will face Mount Isa Magistrates Court on Wednesday over allegations they dishonestly gained a benefit while running a Charters Towers aviation business.
The pair were allegedly involved in conducting illegal charter services between 2012 and 2016.
These charges are the latest laid by police during a long-running investigation into the company.
Earlier this year, Hoch was charged with 342 offences relating to his conduct in the aviation sector.
He is accused of tampering with planes at Mount Isa Airport, inflicting grievous bodily harm in the form of head injuries on an aircraft engineer, and endangering the safety of people in a vehicle.
A 24-year-old man from Mount Isa and a 64-year-old Charters Towers man were also charged earlier this year in relation to the investigation.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about the alleged grievous bodily harm in July 2014 to come forward.
Officers would also like to speak to people who were at the Doongmabulla Airstrip when the nose wheel of an aircraft collapsed on August 17, 2014.
An outback Queensland pilot accused of tampering with planes and causing permanent head injuries to an engineer has also been charged with fraud.
Josh Hoch, 32, and a 34-year-old woman will face Mount Isa Magistrates Court on Wednesday over allegations they dishonestly gained a benefit while running a Charters Towers aviation business.
The pair were allegedly involved in conducting illegal charter services between 2012 and 2016.
These charges are the latest laid by police during a long-running investigation into the company.
Earlier this year, Hoch was charged with 342 offences relating to his conduct in the aviation sector.
He is accused of tampering with planes at Mount Isa Airport, inflicting grievous bodily harm in the form of head injuries on an aircraft engineer, and endangering the safety of people in a vehicle.
A 24-year-old man from Mount Isa and a 64-year-old Charters Towers man were also charged earlier this year in relation to the investigation.
Police are appealing for anyone with information about the alleged grievous bodily harm in July 2014 to come forward.
Officers would also like to speak to people who were at the Doongmabulla Airstrip when the nose wheel of an aircraft collapsed on August 17, 2014.
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