Whimsy – down memory lane.
There was four of us sat at the table; probably close on 80,000 + collective command flight hours (the rest of 'em excluded; a wide range of experience and disciplines, and who could even begin to count the 'tales'. I got the round in, and asked 'the' question – forced landing training – anyone remember it? And, so it began. The Middle Beach fatal being the 'trigger' for further discussion (a lot of it). CASA and ATSB 'featured;' although not in good way.
However; as I was actually there at the time, my own 'experience' and 'training' was reflected and reinforced by the crew; and so, in summary I shall sketch that (in brief) as a point of disgust with the way the Middle Beach event was handled in court. Mark you, half the problem is that the bloody lawyers have even less clue than the unfortunate jurors or even the Judge. Scary when you think about it.
I was blessed with a fine instructor; the older I got the more I appreciated the work he put into my training. Sent me solo he did, and took on the thankless task of beating navigation and route flying into my wooden head. Back in those days, track and time keeping were a mandatory requirement; ETA's withing two minutes, position reports, written flight log etc. Busy enough for anyone; but Nav 1 about twenty minutes clear of departure; he asked me a question. “What if that engine fails about now?”. Man, I was working with the Whizz wheel, trying to sort out the log, trying to maintain a semblance of height, heading and find the illusive navigation landmarks - “What?” I asked. “Engine failure right now" says he; where will you go?. Well, he had me beat hollow and speechless. Then a big smile - “I'll fly the next leg; I want you to pick out the paddocks which suit you best and we can discuss them. There, began a habit of a lifetime; it became more difficult and demanding as time wore on and as more 'Nav's were done, it became a game. He would call “Now” - I make the decision and as we cruised along for the next 20 minutes; we would wrangle over the pluses and minuses of the selected return to Terra Firma. It took a while for me to understand the immense value of those 'discussions'; I was not taught 'forced landings' I was taught to always have a 'Plan B' at any tick of the clock; saved my aging rump on several occasions has that peerless training.
Which bring me to the point, as it were. In any emergency; the sub conscious is working overtime trying to present 'the data' gathered through experience to the operating mind; somewhere, behind the procedures and checklists and attempted remedies; the lessons and thinking process (experience if you will) are present. Inescapable really. Which brings me to the Middle Beach fatal; given the many hundreds of 'beach landings' the pilot had successfully and uneventfully conducted – has had (probably), at the time, on balance of probability and past experience, made the 'best' decision possible – given the time, place and circumstances. The engine failure was not in any way 'his' fault; in fact it was faulty. The appeal is justified; his stance is right and, given the circumstances; the 'best' outcome possible was arguably, a fair call. Kick the appeal tin at AOPA – if you can - you know you want to......Ale: large one! – fast type...
There was four of us sat at the table; probably close on 80,000 + collective command flight hours (the rest of 'em excluded; a wide range of experience and disciplines, and who could even begin to count the 'tales'. I got the round in, and asked 'the' question – forced landing training – anyone remember it? And, so it began. The Middle Beach fatal being the 'trigger' for further discussion (a lot of it). CASA and ATSB 'featured;' although not in good way.
However; as I was actually there at the time, my own 'experience' and 'training' was reflected and reinforced by the crew; and so, in summary I shall sketch that (in brief) as a point of disgust with the way the Middle Beach event was handled in court. Mark you, half the problem is that the bloody lawyers have even less clue than the unfortunate jurors or even the Judge. Scary when you think about it.
I was blessed with a fine instructor; the older I got the more I appreciated the work he put into my training. Sent me solo he did, and took on the thankless task of beating navigation and route flying into my wooden head. Back in those days, track and time keeping were a mandatory requirement; ETA's withing two minutes, position reports, written flight log etc. Busy enough for anyone; but Nav 1 about twenty minutes clear of departure; he asked me a question. “What if that engine fails about now?”. Man, I was working with the Whizz wheel, trying to sort out the log, trying to maintain a semblance of height, heading and find the illusive navigation landmarks - “What?” I asked. “Engine failure right now" says he; where will you go?. Well, he had me beat hollow and speechless. Then a big smile - “I'll fly the next leg; I want you to pick out the paddocks which suit you best and we can discuss them. There, began a habit of a lifetime; it became more difficult and demanding as time wore on and as more 'Nav's were done, it became a game. He would call “Now” - I make the decision and as we cruised along for the next 20 minutes; we would wrangle over the pluses and minuses of the selected return to Terra Firma. It took a while for me to understand the immense value of those 'discussions'; I was not taught 'forced landings' I was taught to always have a 'Plan B' at any tick of the clock; saved my aging rump on several occasions has that peerless training.
Which bring me to the point, as it were. In any emergency; the sub conscious is working overtime trying to present 'the data' gathered through experience to the operating mind; somewhere, behind the procedures and checklists and attempted remedies; the lessons and thinking process (experience if you will) are present. Inescapable really. Which brings me to the Middle Beach fatal; given the many hundreds of 'beach landings' the pilot had successfully and uneventfully conducted – has had (probably), at the time, on balance of probability and past experience, made the 'best' decision possible – given the time, place and circumstances. The engine failure was not in any way 'his' fault; in fact it was faulty. The appeal is justified; his stance is right and, given the circumstances; the 'best' outcome possible was arguably, a fair call. Kick the appeal tin at AOPA – if you can - you know you want to......Ale: large one! – fast type...