[Peetwo]

Video segment:

https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/dying-pilot-...l/10444124

7.30 Report
Dying pilot tries to clear his name after fatal plane crash
Posted Mon 29 Oct 2018, 9:14pm

Updated Tue 30 Oct 2018, 6:37am
Expires: Wednesday 29 April 2020 9:14pmus


The owner of an aviation company involved in a plane crash that killed one passenger and injured three others has raised questions about evidence used by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to investigate him, his company and the pilot flying the plane.

Transcript:

ADELE FERGUSON, REPORTER: It's 10:30 am on January 10, 2017.
European tourists seeking an adventure, are on their way to a remote beach off the coast of Queensland.

Les Woodall, an experienced pilot is flying this Cessna 172.

Everything seems fine. Three passengers are sitting inside the light plane.

The youngest a 13-year-old local boy. Like most teenagers, he's busily filming on his phone.

BRUCE RHOADES, FORMER OWNER, WYNDHAM AVIATION: It was a pretty nice sunny day with a bit of cumulus cloud in the sky.

ADELE FERGUSON: Their destination is Middle Island. It's a short 22 km trip.
Those on board sign a form requesting a rock'n'roll flight to add to the thrill.
Bruce Rhoades, owner of the Adventure Tour company Wyndham Aviation is flying behind them in a second light plane.

BRUCE RHOADES: Les would always go first and that aircraft flew just a little bit faster and that meant he was going to get to the beach before me. He went down to carry out his inspection and I didn't hear another word from the radio from that moment on from him.

ADELE FERGUSON: Queensland local Jason Lonnon was sitting next to Bruce. His son is a passenger in the first plane. He's the one filming the flight.

JASON LONNON, WITNESS: We weren't far behind them. They were just turning around at the point near the campsite getting ready to land and then the plane actually disappeared out of view.

BRUCE RHOADES : I was about three nautical mile behind at that stage. He was doing his descent. He carried out his search and then he disappeared behind a sand dune, which from where I was looking at was quite odd because normally he would continue straight ahead and climb out, in order to do the turn around and he should have made a radio call to me to tell me the condition of the beach and how he was going to do his approach.

ADELE FERGUSON: Seven minutes and 45 seconds into the flight something is wrong.

JASON LONNON: I didn't expect anyone to be alive.

ADELE FERGUSON: The second plane lands and everyone rushes to assist at the crash site.

JASON LONNON: I just yelled out my son's name and he responded. That was a big sigh of relief. We couldn't actually see inside the plane, it was wrecked that bad. It looked like it had been chewed up by a dinosaur and spat out.

There was fuel dripping. We were trying to gather up as much fuel as we could too. It was like in the movies almost, with the fuel running down.

I crawled into the wreck to get to me son. He was hanging upside down with his seatbelt still on.

I had to get a knife to cut him down and drag him out.

He was in a lot better condition than the other passengers on the plane.

ADELE FERGUSON: Vision from the rescue helicopter shows Bruce helping to move passengers. In the wreckage, a 29-year-old UK backpacker is killed.

The three survivors are injured, two seriously.

Do you ever get flashes?

BRUCE RHOADES: The flashes I get the most and I guess the thing that disturbs me the most is doing CPR on that girl for so long and that I guess is the thing that comes back, if you like, to haunt me.

ADELE FERGUSON: The crash sparks an immediate investigation by the Transport Safety Investigator known as the ATSB, but it is CASA, the body who licences pilots and overseas safety that strikes first.

It gathers its own evidence, suspends and cancels the company's licence 17 days after the crash and one day after another light plane, owned by a different company, crashed in Perth.

You ended up getting told that you were negligent in effect by CASA just a few weeks later?

BRUCE RHOADES: In many, many ways, yes.

ADELE FERGUSON: CASA says the plane should have landed in the water, but some aviation experts, including a former CASA worker, said if the Cessna landed in the sea it could have flipped upside down and sunk.

JASON LONNON: Those planes are extremely difficult to get in and out of at any given time, you know.

BRUCE RHOADES: If an aircraft lands with wheels down in the water, it somersaults.

ADELE FERGUSON: So, what would have happened?

BRUCE RHOADES: Then the aircraft would have inverted probably sinking those first because that is where the weight of the engine is. They all would have drowned.

ADELE FERGUSON: Bruce Rhoades doesn't fly anymore. CASA called the company a "serious and imminent risk to air safety" and cancelled his licence, a move that he says cost him his business and reputation as a 40-year veteran of flying.

Les Woodall, known as Woody, lost his licence, too. Now Bruce is running out of time to try and clear his name. He is dying of cancer and has weeks to live.
Why does it mean so much to you to speak up?

BRUCE RHOADES: I guess, if you like, there is Woody and myself being able to hold our heads up amongst our peer group and own industry and the second reason is that the family of the dead girl, in particular, I want to make sure that they know the truth and a third reason I just cannot allow this culture of CASA to go on without speaking out very, very loudly against it.

ADELE FERGUSON: Bruce has been flying for decades. He bought Wyndham Aviation in 2008, a business that flies adventure seekers and backpackers to untouched beaches. He says about 30,000 people have taken his chartered flights.

Bruce claims CASA didn't like his adventure rock'n'roll flights, but never stopped them.

They were never kept hidden as this YouTube video shows.
(LAUGHTER)

More than a decade ago when Bruce worked for another company, CASA grounded him and he pleaded guilty in the Magistrates' Court to four charges.
There were issues with his pilot's log book and maintenance sheets and he did charter flights without the correct licence.

Bruce also let a tourist get a photo touching the controls. But the pilot who crashed Les Woodall had no incidents and a clean record.
They essentially called you cowboys.

BRUCE RHOADES: Very much so, Yes.

And, certainly in our promotion, we tried to display the image, if you will, of the fun Australian, but certainly nothing dangerous and CASA were well aware of our activities.

ADELE FERGUSON: Bruce believes that CASA could have learned a lesson from his company's accident.

DAVID RHOADES: The passengers in the back of the aircraft were far more severely injured because they did not have over shoulder seat belting in the back of the aircraft, which were not required in those slightly older model aircraft. This aircraft was about a '76 model, I believe. Had they consulted with me, which they had never done, I would have recommended immediately that they man date all of the older aircraft, all be fitted with that over shoulder seatbelt immediately or within six months or a reasonable time interval.
They have not done that. They don't have the authority to investigate.
The ATSB do that.

ADELE FERGUSON: Evidence has emerged which raises questions about CASA and the crash. CASA says the plane was overloaded and there were four backpacks, each weighing exactly 5 kg. There is only evidence of two backpacks and they are underweight.

CASA claims the fuel was contaminated, yet evidence shows it was collected in a used Coca-Cola bottle found on the beach days later.

Say they that the plane was too low. Woodall claims he was inspecting the beach for debris prior to landing, something the company had approval from CASA to do.

Woodall planned to use this evidence to appeal the cancellation of his pilot's license, but in August CASA offered Woodall a confidential settlement if he dropped the legal action.

7.30 understands that the settlement didn't require any additions of wrong-doing or negligence and he could reapply for a pilot's licence.

The settlement was made before the police, a coronial inquiry or the ATSB had finished their investigations into the accident.

Kenneth "Ozzie" Pratt worked for CASA for 20 years as an airworthiness inspector. He retired in 2008.

KENNETH PRATT, FORMER CASA EMPLOYEE: He didn't do anything I consider aerobatic. He was doing slight, bumps, where he would pull the stick back. That is not aerobatics, but it is not going to hurt the aircraft.

ADELE FERGUSON: CASA declined to be interviewed on camera. In a statement, it said unauthorised
aerobatic manoeuvres were done by both pilots. Any issues with the collection of evidence was a matter for attending police.

They also said passengers were not asked for their weight prior to the flight. The pilots disagree.

VOICEOVER: CASA actively and continuously monitors the safety performance of Australian aviation to identify emerging risks or issues that should be addressed.

ADELE FERGUSON: It's been one year and nine months since the crash.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is still investigating.
So are the Queensland Police.

The ATSB released an interim report in March 2017, but it didn't conclusively say what caused the accident.  But, at the end of the day, it will be up to the Coroner to examine all the evidence in detail and determine the cause of death and make any safety recommendations.

Meanwhile, the families are still waiting for answers.

JASON LONNON: Every time I hear one of them planes flying around, it just reminds me of that day. It is stuck with me for life, I am sure of that.

CASA response to 730 questions pg 1 to 5:

And Carmody reckons the Big R-regulator has changed it's spots - yeah and pigs might fly...  

Update to the ongoing CASA embuggerance of Bruce Rhoades - 

From Mr Rhoades FB page the Scottish Git Crawford (aka the White Rabbit) shows his true colours:




Also: 

 

Mr Rhoades has also written to the miniscule with a standard gutless no response to this date : links - https://1drv.ms/w/s!At3MDHGvpfttgdRd1I75...3f2OqPH90c 

(Thank you Wannabe -   ):

My Introduction letter to the Minister to which he has not responded.

Good Afternoon Minister,

I believe my brother-in-law has given you something of a “heads up” on this after the story going to air?

He has further advised me to correspond with you directly in the hope that you will be prepared to have the Commonwealth Ombudsman carry out an inquiry.

As I am sure you are aware "7:30 Report" did a comprehensive story regarding the corrupt culture within CASA last Monday night.

7:30 Report did a great job in the time available but could not possibly cover all points in such a complex story in such a small time frame.

One very notable point they did highlight was CASA’s “backdoor” deal done with my pilot Les Woodall and his lawyer to withdraw evidence from the public record in return for a “get out of jail free card” for Les.

It is hardly his fault that they offered him such a deal and he took it even though he was not guilty of anything other than saving three lives!

Little did CASA realise that I was the one who compiled the brief of evidence they were trying to suppress.

That is the brief I am now attaching for your interest and labelled 7:30 Report.

You will find that my report refers to a 60 page affidavit where CASA have done there best to vilify both myself and Les dragging up minor transgressions largely of a clerical nature from 11 years ago combined with blatantly falsifying evidence in the crash of WTQ on 10 January 2017.

I am sure CASA will be happy to provide you with a copy, it is too large to email.

The 7:30 Report also obtained the opinions of independent professionals within the industry who universally agreed that Les made the right decision in not landing ahead into the water in contradiction of CASA's opinion.

I have also attached a very recent confidential communication from the ATSB to me which clearly refutes many of the allegations that CASA have made against Les Woodall.

CASA in all forums have made a great issue in alleging that virtually on a daily basis both our aircraft were doing aerobatics. 

Why then 18 months later is the sister ship JER still flying (having been sold) without being grounded by CASA and subjected to an Air Worthiness Inspection? 

Quite obviously they do not believe their own allegations or have no interest in safety at all.

Another good question to be asked is "Why have both mine and Les Woodall's licence's been cancelled and yet no charges have been laid against either of us in 18 months?" Not that either of us will now fly again for medical reasons.

There exists today a very adversarial relationship between CASA and charter operators to the degree that charter operators will not report safety issues to CASA. They will make every effort to resolve them in house without reporting for fear of punitive actions by CASA that will prejudice their business.

I know of at least two in flight emergencies with charter operators who had mechanical failures in flight which related to sub standard work by maintenance organisations that were never reported for this reason.

The issue I have raised regarding over shoulder seat belt restraints in the rear of the aircraft typifies how far CASA have drifted from their primary mandate of SAFETY!

I am quite certain that had these over shoulder belt restraints been fitted in the rear of WTQ then all passengers would have been recovered alive and with significantly less life debilitating injuries, and yet CASA have not made any moves to remedy this situation in older aircraft.

Why is this not an imperative for them?

I have encouraged aviators to write to me with their stories of CASA’s corruption.

I have attached some of these also for your interest.

These stories expressed the extreme frustration and bitterness of the aviation industry towards CASA.

CASA have become an arrogant police organisation who will not listen to safety concerns of the industry.

There is no bilateral relationship between the industry and CASA where aviation operators can freely express their concerns regarding aviation safety.

Instead we have a very adversarial relationship between CASA and industry which has resulted in an extremely contra safety relationship today simply because no one trusts CASA.

Unfortunately this corrupt and endemic culture is rife throughout CASA and has been worsening for the last 30 years.

Corruption starts at the top and rots down through the rest of the tree.

The two individuals who are clearly responsible for the blatantly false evidence shown in the affidavit against me and Les Woodall are Craig Martin (Eastern Region Manager) who is responsible for its preparation and Anthony Carter head of legal in Canberra who signed off on it in spite of the obvious inconsistencies and blatant errors in the affidavit.

No doubt CASA believe that once again the story will be forgotten after one flash on national media, however I will not be allowing that to happen.

I have 9 days until I go in for debulking surgery on this brain tumour therefore if you require any further advice or testimony from me then please do so before the 12th of November.

I do request that you advise me before the 12th as to what action you propose to take on this matter, I will not let this rest.

Should you choose to carry out an investigation of this matter it will be difficult to find investigators with sufficient knowledge of the industry who are uncontaminated by CASA.

Regards,

Bruce Rhoades

Ph 0427717707

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&..

Emailed this to Federal Minister for Transport a moment ago.

To Aviation Advisor to the Minister,

Good afternoon Steve,

In response please advise your last name.

You will remember that I rang you this afternoon to discuss the 24 page expose I sent you regarding corruption within CASA specifically by two individuals Anthony Carter and Craig Martin. 

You continued to respond to me by saying that as this was under investigation by the ATSB you could not comment to me nor was it a political role to investigate until the ATSB ( Australian Transport Safety Board) had completed their inquiries and released a final report.

You seem to have missed the point. 

I was not asking you to pre-empt the ATSB enquiry.

I was asking you to investigate the fabrication and falsification of evidence in an affidavit prepared by these two individuals (CASA officers not ATSB) and which is quite obvious in the expose that I sent you, should you have bothered to read it.

You should also be concerned that it is the belief of the vast majority of of general aviation community that this type of corruption is rife from the top to the bottom of CASA. (Civil Aviation Safety Authority)

You should also be concerned by the extreme police culture of CASA which intimidates the Aviation community from speaking out against them unless assured of anonymity.

You should be concerned that SAFETY is the first victim of this adversarial relationship between CASA and the aviation community.

Do you need me to be clearer on precisely what items of evidence they fabricated?

It Is most definitely your role to root out corruption within your the ministerial bureaucracy or advise me who I should be speaking to in order to achieve that.

It appears very much that you hope this will all be forgotten and swept under the carpet.

Let me also advise you that I will inform and publish on all media platforms of your incompetence and dare I say deliberate mishandling of this matter given that you did not respond to my original email 10 days ago.

That will include this letter.

Regards,

Bruce Rhoades 

Also read some of the supportive FB comments: https://www.facebook.com/bruce.rhoades.7...fM&fref=nf

Examples:

Tom Green Oh CASA is saying that what you have printed on Facebook is inaccurate. According to them, they live with the angels on their side an, therefore, they can do no wrong! However you have stated honestly and accurately that CASA have thrown away their own rule book. Nothing new here - ask Dick Smith!

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Bruce Rhoades Hi Tom Green, I find it amusing that they object so strenuously that I have defamed them and react so aggressively.......but it is just fine for them to defame me with impunity.
Nor do they realise how laughable such threats are to someone with my circumstances.

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Jay-D McLean Gross! The argument that exposing their corruption is a public hazard in that it could compromise public confidence in their corrupt bureaucracy... sounds like something right out of old Joey Stalin's play book.

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Jay-D McLean Perhaps they should think through their strategy here.
.
Step 1: fraudulently and with extreme prejudice, destroy an individuals business and eliminate their ability to earn an income in the future.
.
Step 2: Ignore them when the plead for fair treatment, a thorough investigation or even to be heard at all.
.
Step 3: when individual goes public threaten to sue him for that which you have already taken.
.
In summary, they starved a wolf. The starving wolf bit them, so they threatened to take away the food that the wolf no longer had. Wow.

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Jay-D McLean Also, it's not libelous defamation if it is true, or even if you believe it to be true. Certainly, there is no expectation that a court must first rule something to be true before it can be said publically. This is an unusual mix of bullying, complete ignorance of tort law and extremely poor strategy. These people definitely belong in government.

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Ian Smith we can all identify who are the cowboys in this saga. Sacking might be too good for them, if it was me I would like to castrate them but that might be difficult as they and the minister seem to be a bit light on in that department

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Bruce Rhoades I thank you Ian Smith there seems to be a wave of support now, especially after that stupid letter CASA sent.

MTF...P2