Tsk tsk.. already told you about that.

Too many micky mouse operators seem to be involved in this sort of “Adventure Tourism”. It took a long time to get a PPL when I did it and I hope that the requirements are even tougher now than they were then.

As for the losers that espouse drug usage as normal. You all really need to get a bloody grip on reality.

If nothing then it is just the usual deceitful hysteria from an under-performing self-serving government entity.

Did the medical certificate factor when the balloon hit the wires?

Did the safety briefing factor when the balloon hit the wires?

Did the residual dope in the pilot’s system factor when the balloon hit the wires?

Saying the pilot could have taken evasive action earlier is just classic Monday morning quarter backing.

This is just the usual poor standard that one unfortunately expects these days from almost every government agency staffed as this one is by incompetent over-paid shiny arsed desk pilots.

The Report also said that the balloon was not properly maintained.
The Report also said the pilot didn’t fully brief the passengers on some safety matters.
The Report said toxicology reports confirmed the pilot had dope in his system (an inference of impaired judgement).
The Report suggested the pilot could have cleared the power lines had he taken evasive action moments earlier. (In fact, when the balloon hit the power lines, it was actually ascending….. but clearly not fast enough to avoid a hook up / subsequent arc / fire etc)
Plus there are other factors listed …

Now I’m no great fan of the CAA. But I don’t agree they’re at fault on this occasion.

Another Ayn Rand intellectual slob without a strategy or an idea to save himself.

So you disagree with the CAA’s claim that the expired medical certificate was an important factor in the accident?

If this was not a balloon accident but rather a charter boat captain who:

(a) Was not authorised to operate as skipper because he had not renewed his medical certificate
(b) Failed to brief his passengers properly on safety measures on board etc
(c) Had a boat that was not properly maintained
(d) Maybe had impaired judgement because of the presence of dope in his system
(e) Made poor decisions / hit rocks / boat sunk / total loss of life

Would the same people who want to direct blame for the balloon accident at the CAA, now want to blame Maritime NZ for a boat tragedy that occurred because of poor decisions made by a moron? And if it wasn’t a balloon accident but rather a bus accident (with similar, tragic outcomes), would the same people try and blame the LTSA because the driver was an idiot and made bad decisions that killed all on board?

Nah – of course not. The balloon accident was a direct result of several poor decisions by the pilot.

Actions have consequences. In this case, the very poor actions of the pilot, cost 10 people their lives.

If you look at the interim report they have a diagram of the flight path and you can see the final descent path is quite erratic and seems to indicate the balloon was being blown longitudinally alongside the wires as opposed to how I’d imagined it, which was approaching the wire at right angles. This path could explain why the pilot was late getting on the burners to lift it over but as I say to me, once he’d hit them, should he have then activated that deflation system?

Had he done so it would have meant of course that when the basket touched the ground the envelope would have been brushing the wires which would have presumably been a danger in itself since it was then earthed. Which maybe why the pilot didn’t take that option, as opposed to being baked.

Anyone who’s smoked a joint knows that after it wears off in a few hours your judgement returns to normal so even if he’d had a few the night before, this doesn’t mean that was a causal factor in the accident. Sadly however people who haven’t ever smoked a joint don’t understand this and I suspect that many will latch onto this “cannabis in the system” issue as being the root cause of this tragedy, which may or may not be true.

It does not take 6 weeks to renew so this suggests that he did not just forget but that he actively ignored the reminders.

Still wrong Redbaiter – the CAA does not make Air Law – the NZ Parliament does

Well, if that is so then the air law should have been changed and who to do that other than these useless bureaucrats who are now pointing the finger at Mr. Hopping??

Just trying to deflect from their own incompetence.

It is not their job to do this – it is the responsibility %100 of the time and in all circumstances that of the Pilot.

” the responsibility should not have been left to the pilot alone.”

Air Law makes it completely clear – its is the pilot alone who has responsibility not the CAA or anybody else

“These bureaucrats are paid to do a job. ”

And its not their job and they are not paid to do what you are suggesting.

Perhaps Air Law should be changed but in this case the CAA did nothing wrong.

If this is so then they should all be sacked for not ensuring that such certificates are kept up to date.

They should have been at Mr. Hopping’s office the very day after it expired making sure he did not fly until it was renewed.

Sure Mr. Hopping had a responsibility to himself to renew the cert, but if it so important that 11 people can die as a result of its non-renewal, the responsibility should not have been left to the pilot alone.

These bureaucrats are paid to do a job. By their own admission, they have failed here, and that failure has resulted in eleven lives being lost.

There are pleny of factors in this case:
1. drugs in system
2. no medical certificate
3. didnt use any safety backup systems
4. was obviously dangerously close to power lines
5. Obviously wrong altitude

Now – in themselves each one wouldnt be a major problem in itself – assuming a pilot who was on the ball, but with some drugs in the system that cause a false sense of security, obvious lack of attention to detail (medical certificate), lack of spatial awareness (close to power lines), and an unwillingness (probably due to the drugs) to use safety systems – resulted in the assembly hitting the power lines.

It wasnt an accident – it was totally avoidable.

It is the responsibility of the individual not the CAA to make sure that all details such as a current medical certificate , type rating etc are correct.

In order to get a licence he will have completed some sort of Air Law test where it will have been spelt out in detail that it was his responsibility and no ones else’s.