'Reckless' behaviorPilot who took off from Queenstown airport in fading light reprimanded.
15:00 Fri Mar 8 2013
AAP
A
Pacific Blue pilot who took off from Queenstown airport in fading light
has been found guilty of carelessly operating an aircraft.
A Pacific Blue pilot
who took off from Queenstown airport in fading light has been found
guilty of carelessly operating an aircraft.
The charge against the Auckland-based 54-year-old pilot, who has name suppression, was brought by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after the Boeing 737 took off 10 minutes after the official cut-off point in June 2010 in bad weather and fading light.
In a written decision Judge Kevin Phillips said the pilot should not have decided to take off.
"I am satisfied that the defendant ... was careless in his manner of operating the aircraft.
"The defendant ignored the mandatory requirements and, in their place, used his planned self designed contingency," he said.
During a defending hearing at Queenstown District Court spread between March and September last year, the court heard the flight bound for Sydney was meant to leave at 4.30pm but did not take off, until 5.25pm - 20 minutes before official twilight - in poor weather and fading light.
The cut-off point for flights from Queenstown Airport was meant to be 30 minutes before twilight.
A former chief pilot for Air New Zealand, Colin Glasgow, told the hearing the aircraft did not reach the minimum altitude required to ensure it did not hit the nearby Southern Alps if an engine failed.
A witness to the incident told the court he feared the plane would crash while a senior CAA manager said the decision to take off was "a recipe for disaster".
"The defendant's decision to depart created a high-risk situation if the aircraft suffered an engine failure," Mark Hughes told the hearing.
The charge carries a maximum fine of $7000. copy http://news.msn.co.nz/
The charge against the Auckland-based 54-year-old pilot, who has name suppression, was brought by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) after the Boeing 737 took off 10 minutes after the official cut-off point in June 2010 in bad weather and fading light.
In a written decision Judge Kevin Phillips said the pilot should not have decided to take off.
"I am satisfied that the defendant ... was careless in his manner of operating the aircraft.
"The defendant ignored the mandatory requirements and, in their place, used his planned self designed contingency," he said.
During a defending hearing at Queenstown District Court spread between March and September last year, the court heard the flight bound for Sydney was meant to leave at 4.30pm but did not take off, until 5.25pm - 20 minutes before official twilight - in poor weather and fading light.
The cut-off point for flights from Queenstown Airport was meant to be 30 minutes before twilight.
A former chief pilot for Air New Zealand, Colin Glasgow, told the hearing the aircraft did not reach the minimum altitude required to ensure it did not hit the nearby Southern Alps if an engine failed.
A witness to the incident told the court he feared the plane would crash while a senior CAA manager said the decision to take off was "a recipe for disaster".
"The defendant's decision to depart created a high-risk situation if the aircraft suffered an engine failure," Mark Hughes told the hearing.
The charge carries a maximum fine of $7000. copy http://news.msn.co.nz/
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário