Sunday, December 13, 2015

Case highlights importance of pilot medical certification

The case of helicopter pilot Dave Armstrong demonstrates the importance of civil aviation rules in maintaining New Zealand’s world-class aviation safety standards, says the Civil Aviation Authority.


Dave Armstrong, left, with Scott Lee, the hunter he rescued.


A judge has rejected a Kaikoura helicopter pilot’s claim that he was justified flying without a current medical certificate on two rescue missions.

Christchurch District Court Judge Tony Couch imposed fines totalling $5800 on Dave Armstrong, who may have saved an injured tramper’s life on one of the missions in April 2014.

He flew when his medical certificate had been revoked by the Director of Civil Aviation after he had suffered what was diagnosed as a mini-stroke in 2012.

Armstrong pleaded guilty at the Kaikoura District Court in October to two charges of flying without his medical certificate, and a third charge relating to incorrect log-book entries which hid his flying.

Judge Couch said he could not conclude that Armstrong was the only option as a pilot for these flights.

On the first occasion, another pilot had been present but Armstrong had concluded that his own skill and knowledge of the terrain meant he should fly the helicopter.

On the second occasion – a search for overdue kayakers in the Clarence River – there was no emergency and no possible justification for Armstrong’s flight of more than an hour with another pilot and a policeman on board. During the flight, a message was received that the kayakers had been found.

Defence counsel Craig Ruane had argued that Armstrong should be discharged without conviction because if the convictions were entered it would send an awkward message to the rescue community.

Pilots would be unwilling to fly in similar circumstances even when they were the only option or the last resort, because they knew they would face prosecution and conviction by the Civil Aviation authorities.

Prosecutor Chris Macklin said the Director of Civil Aviation did not accept that, and discharges without conviction would send a very unhelpful message about the compliance with the regulations. He did not accept that it would send any unacceptable message to rescuers.

Most interest in the case centered on an incident on April 5, 2015, when a tramper fell and broke his femur in the Puhipuhi Valley and was left lying in a precarious position. His companion used her outer clothing to tie him in position and stop him falling further.

A doctor warned that he could have died if left overnight. A rescue helicopter from Christchurch was unable to find the injured man and make the rescue and the police then approached Kaikoura Helicopters Ltd. Armstrong decided to fly, making two short flights in deteriorating light and weather conditions to drop the doctor and rescuers in to the scene, and the injured man was brought out by stretcher, overland.

The injured tramper, Scott Lee, met Armstrong at the Kaikoura Court House in October when Armstrong pleaded guilty. Lee regards him as a hero for having saved his life.

The police were not told at the time of the flights that Armstrong was not certificated to fly. If they were told, they would not have allowed the flights to go ahead.

Judge Couch said that on both flights on April 5 and the search for the kayakers on April 21, if Armstrong had suffered an even momentary loss of awareness or control there would have been a serious risk for the people on board.

It was clear that Armstrong was well informed about the suspension of his medical certification, and his offending was deliberate, measured, and premeditated.

He had invoiced the police for the rescue flying, as usual.

He had also admitted to other flights so the offences were “not isolated events but were part of a pattern of unlawful behavior”.

He said he could not conclude that the consequences of the convictions would outweight the gravity of the offending – which would have allowed him to consider a discharge – and imposed the convictions and fines.

Source:  http://courtnews.co.nz

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