“Among his many concerns, Coroner Paul Lawrie said it “beggars belief”
Australian Aviation author Naomi Nieilson has (at last) shone a small, but significant light on an event which could bring some significant changes to the RAAus three ring circus. In the center ring we find the Victoria Coroner and his findings into an event which claimed one life and an aircraft. The 'report' may be found and read -HERE-. I suggest starting at about 'item 127' and going through to about the high mid 200 series. Only my opinion from here – but the Coroner has (I believe) seen, ruled on and eloquently elaborated many of the 'private' concerns many have held since RAAus inception.
While the spotlight is on the centre ring, the Coroner remains without the support part of his troop. The research offered to support his findings is 'narrow'; there exists some 'complexities' which, being fully understood and scrutinised, could have presented the authorising body (CASA) with some fairly curly questions to answer. The probity of the RAAus answers to some questions has been allowed to 'slide' around the details related to the event pilot which, once again could have provided a more 'positive' set of findings and brought in the changes required to prevent a recurrence of what was almost a perfectly preventable event. But this was no 'accident' i.e. ” unexpected event, typically sudden in nature and associated with injury, loss, or harm”.
Given the publicly acknowledged 'nature & demeanor' of this pilot, some form of 'event' was more than likely; there was nothing 'sudden' about the event; the forecast was there, the weather conditions were clearly visible; the act of persisting into unfavorable conditions was deliberate. The 'question' for our Coroner is how was this person authorised to conduct the flight? How, is a bloody good question.
Should Ms. Neilson, CASA or the Coroner be 'interested' in ripping the artful 'band-aid' off this boil, I suggest (humbly) that they begin 'at the beginning', with some basic, difficult questions.. For example:- from Coroners para 31 - on (interesting).
“Mr Farrell had 257.5 hours of paragliding experience.”
TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE THE SAFA PG2 LICENCE, YOU WILL NEED TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING:-
Minimum of 6 flying days.
Minimum of 30 flights (launch & landing) from at least 3 different flying sites.
3 soaring flights of at least 15 minutes duration OR 10 flights of at least 5 minutes duration.
1 high flight of above 500ft.
Vic ?@ p 33 = "Mr Wood applied for Mr Farrell to be issued a Converting Pilot RPC for Group A (3-axis) aircraft on the basis of his paragliding experience and claiming flight training of 11.1 hours dual and 3.6 hours solo flight time in Group A aircraft."
Aye, all well and good until you try to decipher the tangled mess within the RAAus 'accepted' Operations Manual. It is a horrible buggers muddle (and I am qualified to say that); however; always remember that Farrell wanted a 'Class A' RPC for three axis aircraft.
Class A 3 axis aircraft (E.g. Jabiru).
Class B weight shift.
Class C Combined control.
Class D powered para .
The individual (tailored) 'training' and 'testing' required depended on the basic level and type of experience presented. For example the holder of a CASA Recreational Pilots License (RPL) on VH aircraft can, with very little 'training' be granted a RAAus equivalent, having ticked all the CASA boxes. Farrell only had a background in 'Paragliding'. The 'manual' is difficult to navigate even for experienced RAAus instructors; so, if the following is incorrect I appologise; but, it does seem to me to be the 'right' road toward what Farrell wanted was avoided; or, at best mapped in error. With only 'paragliding' on the record; to qualify for a Recreation Pilot Certificate (RPC) to operate 'Cross Country' - in a three axis aircraft; the following criteria must be satisfied:-
“Minimum 10 hrs dual cross country /-2 solo cross country/examination/ +1 test flight for 3 axis Class A aircraft.”
I may well have that wrong – the manual is confusing; and I can easily imagine how an instructor (any instructor) could confuse the 'qualifications' presented against the 'requirements' of the manual. Again, if wrong I appologise.
The Coroner is IMO righteously miffed; the sin of attempting to varnish over an error is likely to create more anger than the 'sin' itself. IF (big one) the instructor was led astray and if the manual confused him as much as it did me (on one read) then the forgivable 'error' issuing of a certificate for navigation without the required training is much less heinous than trying to baffle the Coroner with Bull-shit and convoluted operating manual 'allowances'.
Mistakes happen; the 'system' utilised should be as bullet proof as possible; as simple as possible and as complete as possible. For example; had the manuals been constructed to 'classify' the presented 'experience' : say a Class D pilot (powered para gliders) then, the training and qualifying course should immediately follow that experience; fill in the 'gaps' and get the job done in one fell swoop. As you qualify as 'Type D' these are your minimum training requirements and the modules to complete them. End of...........
IMO, the performance in the Coroners court will/ can only produce more restrictive practices. RAAus should get ahead of the game; sort out the internal operational mess and show CASA and the Coroner that the 'errors' have been rectified. 'A stitch in time saves nine?
Apologies for Errors and Omissions etc. But. like most events, this was preventable (almost). Sometimes – Shit happens…....
Toot – toot.
Australian Aviation author Naomi Nieilson has (at last) shone a small, but significant light on an event which could bring some significant changes to the RAAus three ring circus. In the center ring we find the Victoria Coroner and his findings into an event which claimed one life and an aircraft. The 'report' may be found and read -HERE-. I suggest starting at about 'item 127' and going through to about the high mid 200 series. Only my opinion from here – but the Coroner has (I believe) seen, ruled on and eloquently elaborated many of the 'private' concerns many have held since RAAus inception.
While the spotlight is on the centre ring, the Coroner remains without the support part of his troop. The research offered to support his findings is 'narrow'; there exists some 'complexities' which, being fully understood and scrutinised, could have presented the authorising body (CASA) with some fairly curly questions to answer. The probity of the RAAus answers to some questions has been allowed to 'slide' around the details related to the event pilot which, once again could have provided a more 'positive' set of findings and brought in the changes required to prevent a recurrence of what was almost a perfectly preventable event. But this was no 'accident' i.e. ” unexpected event, typically sudden in nature and associated with injury, loss, or harm”.
Given the publicly acknowledged 'nature & demeanor' of this pilot, some form of 'event' was more than likely; there was nothing 'sudden' about the event; the forecast was there, the weather conditions were clearly visible; the act of persisting into unfavorable conditions was deliberate. The 'question' for our Coroner is how was this person authorised to conduct the flight? How, is a bloody good question.
Should Ms. Neilson, CASA or the Coroner be 'interested' in ripping the artful 'band-aid' off this boil, I suggest (humbly) that they begin 'at the beginning', with some basic, difficult questions.. For example:- from Coroners para 31 - on (interesting).
“Mr Farrell had 257.5 hours of paragliding experience.”
TO SUCCESSFULLY ACHIEVE THE SAFA PG2 LICENCE, YOU WILL NEED TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING:-
Minimum of 6 flying days.
Minimum of 30 flights (launch & landing) from at least 3 different flying sites.
3 soaring flights of at least 15 minutes duration OR 10 flights of at least 5 minutes duration.
1 high flight of above 500ft.
Vic ?@ p 33 = "Mr Wood applied for Mr Farrell to be issued a Converting Pilot RPC for Group A (3-axis) aircraft on the basis of his paragliding experience and claiming flight training of 11.1 hours dual and 3.6 hours solo flight time in Group A aircraft."
Aye, all well and good until you try to decipher the tangled mess within the RAAus 'accepted' Operations Manual. It is a horrible buggers muddle (and I am qualified to say that); however; always remember that Farrell wanted a 'Class A' RPC for three axis aircraft.
Class A 3 axis aircraft (E.g. Jabiru).
Class B weight shift.
Class C Combined control.
Class D powered para .
The individual (tailored) 'training' and 'testing' required depended on the basic level and type of experience presented. For example the holder of a CASA Recreational Pilots License (RPL) on VH aircraft can, with very little 'training' be granted a RAAus equivalent, having ticked all the CASA boxes. Farrell only had a background in 'Paragliding'. The 'manual' is difficult to navigate even for experienced RAAus instructors; so, if the following is incorrect I appologise; but, it does seem to me to be the 'right' road toward what Farrell wanted was avoided; or, at best mapped in error. With only 'paragliding' on the record; to qualify for a Recreation Pilot Certificate (RPC) to operate 'Cross Country' - in a three axis aircraft; the following criteria must be satisfied:-
“Minimum 10 hrs dual cross country /-2 solo cross country/examination/ +1 test flight for 3 axis Class A aircraft.”
I may well have that wrong – the manual is confusing; and I can easily imagine how an instructor (any instructor) could confuse the 'qualifications' presented against the 'requirements' of the manual. Again, if wrong I appologise.
The Coroner is IMO righteously miffed; the sin of attempting to varnish over an error is likely to create more anger than the 'sin' itself. IF (big one) the instructor was led astray and if the manual confused him as much as it did me (on one read) then the forgivable 'error' issuing of a certificate for navigation without the required training is much less heinous than trying to baffle the Coroner with Bull-shit and convoluted operating manual 'allowances'.
Mistakes happen; the 'system' utilised should be as bullet proof as possible; as simple as possible and as complete as possible. For example; had the manuals been constructed to 'classify' the presented 'experience' : say a Class D pilot (powered para gliders) then, the training and qualifying course should immediately follow that experience; fill in the 'gaps' and get the job done in one fell swoop. As you qualify as 'Type D' these are your minimum training requirements and the modules to complete them. End of...........
IMO, the performance in the Coroners court will/ can only produce more restrictive practices. RAAus should get ahead of the game; sort out the internal operational mess and show CASA and the Coroner that the 'errors' have been rectified. 'A stitch in time saves nine?
Apologies for Errors and Omissions etc. But. like most events, this was preventable (almost). Sometimes – Shit happens…....
Toot – toot.