Those of us who have had a short experience of the sort of longer term situation Sunfish described can only thank our lucky stars that we were fortunate enough to avoid the long term dramas of remote medical treatment. How much more dreadful must be the experience when the timeframe is far longer ?

Perhaps those who have had no exposure at all are not in a very strong position to advocate on the philosophical rights and wrongs of things ? Something about walking a mile in their moccasins, perhaps ?

As to PIC command decision calls, it is very easy for those of us with significant flying experience VFR/IFR to suggest what we might do in the light of that historical experience, given a particular situation. More importantly, we have the benefit of all those frights to which we subjected ourselves while acquiring the experience ...

Perhaps folks might cast their minds back to their time during that high-risk 100-500 hours period. Does the fact that Pilot A kills himself while Pilot B doesn't, mean that Pilot A is a lesser pilot ? Perhaps more that Pilot B might have been just a little bit luckier. I recall a double fatality in the Blue Mountains many years ago - one of the young chaps was the son of a childhood friend. The two of them, apparently, survived the prang but succumbed to injuries subsequently. Probably not in the same valley, with the same lowering cloud base but, quite some years earlier at a similar experience level, I very nearly came unstuck in a very similar manner - on that occasion, I was lucky. Come to think of it, on many occasions, I was lucky .. until I wised up a bit.

Perhaps the emphasis ought to be not on castigation but, rather, lift the bar on basic pilot training to give the new chums some supervised exposure so that they can have a few programmed frights with a better controlled risk ?

Stop making excuses. Launching VFR into literally below IFR minima weather is not excusable or defendable in any way. He TOOK OFF into it.

The Angel Flight discussion is another topic within. But don't justify the pilots culpability.

I must have missed the part in the report where AF FORCED this guy to blast off into IMC. Must have been a gun to his head or something.

I think most here acknowledge that the pilot stuffed up, but I have genuine questions as I only know the bare minimum about Angel Flight.

1. How many flights a day or week would the operate?

2. Is there anyone at Angel Flight who monitors these flights for weather etc. and communicates this with the pilot the day before or day of the flight? And will reccomend or advise that the flight should / will not take place?

If the doomsday merchants like Sunfish are to be believed the days of the 172 keeping GA and the airlines running (big leap of logic there), are severely limited. Its a very Australian trait to howl and tear down someone just because they don't follow the herd in their ideas. The people occupying the lofty heights of the RHS of a 737 have all been through the refining process of having to make decisions whether to operate or not in marginal conditions The questions being asked by rammel are very good questions. Who does keep an eye on these pilots? Just because AF doesn't have AOC, don't employ pilots or operate aircraft doesn't mean they don't have any responsibility to the people that are being transported. Do the people availing themselves of the service really understand that the pilot is the equivalent of a kindly stranger taking them in their own transport to the hospital? Maybe AF needs to be the provider of the education program to ensure that the weather decision making process, that has been flawed in 2 fatal accidents being operated under their banner, is better understood by pilots with varying experience levels.

Then argue that point but when this is directed at them and this then my statement is valid. I don't agree with FRT's assessment of AF but the point he is making is that the Government should be funding better regional health services so that people in regional areas should only have to drive into town to get 1st class medical and mental health treatment

As I stated, I only know the bare minimum about AF. I'm assuming that there is some central point that the flights are arranged through and if this is the case, what monitoring is done of these flights?

I know that they are private flights, but they are being arranged by a third party. All I'm asking is, does AF ask if pilots are familiar with the area they are operating from/to and discuss the flight ahead?

While I know that pilots can cancel the flight, I'm also aware of the perceived pressure on the pilot to help out a family with a sick child.

To say that AF is just like any other private category flight is like saying Uber is just like getting a lift from a stranger. The fact that it is a charity does not absolve it from a responsibility to the "patients" for want of a better word. If there is no direct oversight then have mentor pilots to the low experience PPLs. who they can call on to help come to a reasoned decision to fly or not. The statement that the PIC can simply say no is as pointless as simply stating don't fly from VMC into IMC. It ignores all sorts of self-imposed pressures that a single pilot low time VFR pilot might place upon themselves. Rammel is asking the questions that the patients and there families would probably ask if they knew their pilot did not have much flying experience.