You could only imagine the amount of stress the crew were under in this situation. Testament to the training and competence of our airline crews both then and today. :ok:

Greybeard has this absolutely spot-on!!

That is one helluva story... respect to the Captain and FO!

And don't forget the stress on the Flight Service Officers involved!

The stress of recognising that your actions (or inactions) could have resulted in the loss of jet airliner full of passengers is a stress that some in ATS have unfortunately experienced and found difficult to overcome. I know George Moyle remained affected by the incident and once confided in me before he passed away that he often went over the incident in his head many times to review whether events could have been handled differently on the night. Doug Dick is still alive and retired in regional Victoria and to my knowledge has said very little publicly on this incident.

The only reference I could find for the book, including a picture, was on The National Library of Australia, looks as though you may be able to arrange to borrow it.


I flew for MMA : an airline pilot's life / R.C. Adkins | National Library of Australia

Don't expect a saga of brilliant airmanship when reading the book. The Iron Ring of captains as Gods of the Air was a characteristic of MMA in those far gone days. Flogging up the west coast of Australia into NT as a career for the rest of one's life, was not exactly pioneer airman stuff that it was made out to be. The author boasting of walking backwards in full uniform on the Perth tarmac while haranguing an incoming DC9 Ansett crew because of a union dispute, does him no credit. Some will enjoy the book while others may find it boring and somewhat self centred.

Sheppey:

While MMA epitomized the "small airline syndrome", and their behavior during their industrial disputes with the mainline pilots was boorish, petulant and just plain childish, the fact remains that on that night Harrold Rowell and Alex Henry did a damn fine job.