Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee. (John Donne).
Alexander “The most common feeling about this sorry saga in the aviation community would be disgust at the treatment of Falcon Air.”
There was late last evening a very serious, sober, late meeting of the BRB. The small gathering had been arranged for one purpose only, to hear, first hand, a report from Canberra. Disappointment and dismay created a very sombre atmosphere. The general feeing by briefing’s end was that industry may well have to survive a little longer on a diet of disgust; for there was little in the way of hope or cheer to report.
Alexander “We can only hope that the Aus continues it’s expose’ and that the Senate exposes CASA for what it has become, a make work salary factory that gobbles up a $billion dollars every two or three years and is destroying General Aviation into the bargain.”
Well Alex, that may or may not occur before the end of the century, but I for one will not be holding my breath, nor making the journey to Canberra to cheer the ‘Senate’ along, life is too short. “So what was it?” asked one of the BRB – “Dunno” came the reply, “but I can tell you what it was not”. We waited a short while as P7 collected his thoughts. “I believed it was to be a briefing for the Senators on the second Pel-Air report, it was hoped that the briefing on that topic could be expanded into a discussion on the way ATSB and CASA acted during the investigation and production of the first report, thus exposing through the documented, almost picture perfect examples of Airtex, Polar, Barrier, Skymaster and Falcon why a reform of the regulator and some sane leadership was essential”. “That is not going to happen”. (Cue in: 'the crack of doom').
I’ll paraphrase the rest. It seems to have been more like a police interrogation rather than a ‘briefing’ to provide useful information; but arse backwards. In the normal manner of such things a witness provides a sworn statement – it is, normally, up to the Bobby’s to ‘investigate’ the lawyers to argue and the judge to make a ruling. Not so this time; it seems as if all must be slowly spoon fed, in small bite sized pieces to a nestling who just doesn’t get it. There is a thirty odd year history of commissions, inquiry, investigation, report and gods know what else, at great public cost, providing a small mountain of rock solid, tested evidence available. The last Senate outing into the ‘inquiry’ paddock netted 37 Senate recommendations, which have been completely ignored. Then there was the ministerial ASSR stemming from the Senate findings which provided another 30 odd recommendations; once again. ignored, then denigrated into ‘opinion’. In short, CASA keep running rings around the Senate, by the time any committee lumbers, slowly into action, the bird has flown away. By the time every tiny piece of the jig-saw puzzle is put together so that a clear picture may emerge; there’s no one, this side of history, alive to enjoy it.
Alexander “One could form the view that CASA’s action against Falcon Air is to make an example of them, show who’s boss, especially that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has been highly critical of CASA in its fight to save GA. Tactics of the bully. Alex in the Rises.”
And so it will continue for the foreseeable future if the RRAT committee continues at the plodding, pedantic speed it seems to prefer; it is, as P7 put it, like trying to explain colour to a disinterested blind man.
The consensus? Well, there may be a small fireworks display for the masses, even the beheading of a few insignificant sacrificial lambs, which may be fun. But any form of ‘deep and meaningful’ reform of the regulator remains a very small speck on a distant horizon, which we approach at the speed of a snail, uncertain of direction, bereft of understanding, trapped in amber and in no particular hurry, whatsoever.
Resolution. – We shall hold the jackets, watch with interest, keep the powder dry, but not invest in the outcome. Investment requires faith and belief. Maybe next time. There will be a next time, rest assured; for ATSB and CASA will continue until the next, inconvenient red light, wait it out and then continue on their merry way; same old, same old. History – anyone?
"What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?"
Toot toot.
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee. (John Donne).
Alexander “The most common feeling about this sorry saga in the aviation community would be disgust at the treatment of Falcon Air.”
There was late last evening a very serious, sober, late meeting of the BRB. The small gathering had been arranged for one purpose only, to hear, first hand, a report from Canberra. Disappointment and dismay created a very sombre atmosphere. The general feeing by briefing’s end was that industry may well have to survive a little longer on a diet of disgust; for there was little in the way of hope or cheer to report.
Alexander “We can only hope that the Aus continues it’s expose’ and that the Senate exposes CASA for what it has become, a make work salary factory that gobbles up a $billion dollars every two or three years and is destroying General Aviation into the bargain.”
Well Alex, that may or may not occur before the end of the century, but I for one will not be holding my breath, nor making the journey to Canberra to cheer the ‘Senate’ along, life is too short. “So what was it?” asked one of the BRB – “Dunno” came the reply, “but I can tell you what it was not”. We waited a short while as P7 collected his thoughts. “I believed it was to be a briefing for the Senators on the second Pel-Air report, it was hoped that the briefing on that topic could be expanded into a discussion on the way ATSB and CASA acted during the investigation and production of the first report, thus exposing through the documented, almost picture perfect examples of Airtex, Polar, Barrier, Skymaster and Falcon why a reform of the regulator and some sane leadership was essential”. “That is not going to happen”. (Cue in: 'the crack of doom').
I’ll paraphrase the rest. It seems to have been more like a police interrogation rather than a ‘briefing’ to provide useful information; but arse backwards. In the normal manner of such things a witness provides a sworn statement – it is, normally, up to the Bobby’s to ‘investigate’ the lawyers to argue and the judge to make a ruling. Not so this time; it seems as if all must be slowly spoon fed, in small bite sized pieces to a nestling who just doesn’t get it. There is a thirty odd year history of commissions, inquiry, investigation, report and gods know what else, at great public cost, providing a small mountain of rock solid, tested evidence available. The last Senate outing into the ‘inquiry’ paddock netted 37 Senate recommendations, which have been completely ignored. Then there was the ministerial ASSR stemming from the Senate findings which provided another 30 odd recommendations; once again. ignored, then denigrated into ‘opinion’. In short, CASA keep running rings around the Senate, by the time any committee lumbers, slowly into action, the bird has flown away. By the time every tiny piece of the jig-saw puzzle is put together so that a clear picture may emerge; there’s no one, this side of history, alive to enjoy it.
Alexander “One could form the view that CASA’s action against Falcon Air is to make an example of them, show who’s boss, especially that the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has been highly critical of CASA in its fight to save GA. Tactics of the bully. Alex in the Rises.”
And so it will continue for the foreseeable future if the RRAT committee continues at the plodding, pedantic speed it seems to prefer; it is, as P7 put it, like trying to explain colour to a disinterested blind man.
The consensus? Well, there may be a small fireworks display for the masses, even the beheading of a few insignificant sacrificial lambs, which may be fun. But any form of ‘deep and meaningful’ reform of the regulator remains a very small speck on a distant horizon, which we approach at the speed of a snail, uncertain of direction, bereft of understanding, trapped in amber and in no particular hurry, whatsoever.
Resolution. – We shall hold the jackets, watch with interest, keep the powder dry, but not invest in the outcome. Investment requires faith and belief. Maybe next time. There will be a next time, rest assured; for ATSB and CASA will continue until the next, inconvenient red light, wait it out and then continue on their merry way; same old, same old. History – anyone?
"What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?"
Toot toot.