Globe&Mail: Lives Could Have Already Been Saved

[freakonature]

xsbank, What as a passenger should I base my decision's on?

[xsbank]

Well, Freak, maybe if someone offers you a ride in a Goose and the vis <1/2 mile in fog, I think you should go. This is kinda what I mean - was this decision based on thousands of hours of flying on the coast? Was it based on a temporary insanity? Did he have a fight with his wife that morning? Is there a macho culture in Pasco? Did he, upon serious consideration of the weather, decide that it was good enough to go? You know that if you just wait a couple of hours it will improve - it always does. Did he have something to 'prove?' Was it just a total swiss cheese outcome that was going to happen despite superior flying skills and being a paragon of aviation, in other words, his time was up?

Why did he not have an 'out' when he arrived at Thormanby and the weather was even worse than he had anticipated? Why no place to turn? Why did he decide to climb straight ahead with only a needle ball and airspeed, ignoring his GPS? There's a lot of water out there. Was there no time before this climb that he felt "maybe I should just turn around?" Was he likely to face some censorship if he turned up at the South Terminal again? Why couldn't he just land? Glassy water too? Nothing like flying a speedy twin in low vis., drizzle on the windscreen, no wind with grey, cloud-coloured glassy water to spoil your day.

The TSB report should be interesting.

How many of you guys are 'afraid' to do a missed approach? To just say, finally, this situation sucks and go around? Do you have a feeling that someone will think less of you, that your CP will have doubts about you, that your medevac crew will think you're "not trying hard enough?" What will you do if you 'push' the MDA a bit and you confront a snowplow when you break out?

I don't know where I am going with this, but people, know your limits! Practise saying 'No.' No point in trying so hard if you end up dead. There are greater reasons to die, this ain't even on the list.

Practise going around. I know it costs money - suck it up.

And if you're flying on the coast, the fronts always pass, the vis always gets better, the ceilings always rise, the wind always changes and life goes on.

[Widow]

Whistleblower protection is a contradiction in terms, ask any whistleblower what happens to them. Ask Hugh Danford what happened to him. Whistleblowing is as much a curse as winning millions in the 6/49. Unless you remain completely anonymous in the whistleblowing (as in 6/49), your life will become HELL. Getting a job will become very hard. Its always easier not to rock the boat, to be a team player, and shut up, than wanting to challenge the status quo, to save the world. Oh perhaps you will to a degree, but at what expense? your own. That is why I dont believe in ratting or whistleblowing. There are better ways.

Current whistleblower protections for federal government employees are a farce - including the latest Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act (2007). I know exactly what happened to Mr. Danford, and what continues to happen to him ... and would remind you, that like other federal whistleblowers, the repercussions have NOT deterred him from continuing to blow the whistle. Rather it has motivated them all to work towards better protections, and helping other whistleblowers.

I think of ratting/whistleblowing as the difference between tattling and telling they teach to school children ... to protect themselves from the local bully. Tattling (ratting) is telling in order to cause trouble. Telling (whistleblowing) is reporting to get help. Ignoring a bully will not make him go away. The bully needs help to understand why his actions are wrong, and to change his methods.

When you find a better way to handle bullies, let me know ... I could use that knowledge as a parent. All those who are faced with being bullied could use that knowledge.

With or without whistleblowers, how do we get TCCA to enforce the way they should? Almost everyone seems to be in agreement that they are NOT doing a good job of it ... even their own internal documents prove that they are inconsistent, and that their officers do not receive the training or management back-up required to do their jobs properly.

xsbank, What as a passenger should I base my decision's on?

TC's TP 7087: A Safety Guide for Aircraft Charter Passengers provides a small amount of relevent information, but how many pax even think to look up this kind of info?