[Peetwo]

Dear Senator McDonald...L&Ks WJR

Via the AP email chains:

Dear Senator McDonald,

I watched the whole CASA performance, particularly , in my opinion, the obfuscating rubbish talked by Monahan. I feel sorry for the CASA CEO, whom I have known since she joined the Commonwealth Public Service.

The CASA evidence was largely hogwash.

In 1998, the way the CASR rules were put in place, firefighters travelling in a Restricted Cat (CASR 21) aircraft were NOT PASSENGERS.

They were classified as "informed participants", just as persons having a "warbirds" flight are NOT travelling as passengers, but informed participants.

A "passenger" is somebody travelling as a passenger in an aircraft operating under a Charter or RPT (to use old but well understood terminology) AOC covering the carriage of said passengers.

An informed participant is a person over 18 who has been briefed in advance of the fact that the aircraft involved does not meet civil Certificate of Airworthiness standards, and is still prepared to voluntarily travel on the Blackhawk or whatever.

Monahan was further talking bulldust about FAA rules, firefighters and similar do travel in Restricted Cat. aircraft, we established the same operational result here by a different and far more simple legal route -- namely, the concept of an "informed participant".

This situation has been entirely created by CASA, by insisting firefighters are "passengers".

In short, the reformed regulations put in place by the Howard Government, under Ministers John Sharp and Mark Vaile in 1997-1998, (the policy doc. was "Soaring into Tomorrow) enable the use of ex-military aircraft for a wide range of purposes.

Including carrying firefighters in then ex-US army UH-1 helos, Hueys.

CASA and the manufacturers hated the idea, of course buying a Huey for $1.00 from the US Army, instead of fundamentally the same aircraft, but with a civil Certificate of Airworthiness, from Bell for (then) $4.5m was not popular with Bell.

Bottom line --- the present situation has been deliberately created by CASA knowingly subverting Cth. Government policy.

The immediate solution, enforce Liberal/National policy as reflected in CASR 21 and related legislative documents in 1998, and fire any CASA person who tries to prevent same.

And brook no confected legal obfuscation from CASA.

Yours sincerely,

William J Hamilton, FRAeS, MAIAA.

MTF...P2