Not sure if this is the right place or if we can help the guy? But here goes anyway.
Saved a life and getting screwed for doing it!!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/72957642/campaign-launched-for-embattled-kaikoura-rescue-pilot-dave-armstrong.html

How do you sign?

Not real sure how to help??
Maybe one of the guys from that side of the world will chime in on how to?

M6RV6 wrote:.....
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/business/72957642/campaign-launched-for-embattled-kaikoura-rescue-pilot-dave-armstrong.html

From the linked article: "Armstrong faces possible jail time because he was flying while suspended" and "He was not meant to be flying that day, because a medical scare had grounded him".
There's more to this story I think.
Jus to play the devil's advocate, how would you react if you got off an airliner & discovered that the pilot(s) had had their medical certificate suspended? I think I might not be too happy.

Hotrod, flying an airline while suspended is one thing, but saving someone's life? It's really not a fair comparison. If it were my life saved I wouldn't even care if he had a license or not!

hotrod180 wrote:Jus to play the devil's advocate, how would you react if you got off an airliner & discovered that the pilot(s) had had their medical certificate suspended? I think I might not be too happy.

How would I react? With a big ol thank you!!!

Like I said, there's more to the story than what's being told. If he was the only rescue pilot-- hell yes! go ahead on! It's just not apparent that that was the case. As they say, there's always (at least) two sides to every story.

http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/73073746/ ... -for-mercy

More of the story.

The question is at what point is it ok to throw all the rules out the window, risk flying in rescuers and Doctors in bad weather and night fall to save one person? There have been many accidents by would be rescuers who pushed it to far.

Not saying what he did was wrong.

Hard Ass crew around here, had a green pilot with him who could get the non wounded out by walking, (The bad pilot)flew the injured out as he had the experience!!
Look at your self and say honestly you have never broke a F.A.R. if your that person more power to ya, but I don't think you are!!
Good on the guy, would have a cup of coffee with him anytime!

Would be interested to know what the medical issue was. If it was vertigo, then he shouldn't have been flying. If it was sleep apnea, then it's a no brainer that if he was feeling rested he should rescue the folks. There is a lot of grey area in between those two...

I was working at a helicopter company. . We were flying fallers for heli logging. . One of the fallers cut off a limb. . Our pilot decided to long line him off the hill. . We didn't have appropriate training for long lining living people. . Our pilot saved that man's life. WCB was trying to get our pilot in trouble with transport canada. At least our civil aviation agency realized that he was in a hard situation and decided that saving a life was better than recovering a body.

The Kiwi Helo Pilot in this story has finally been fined $5,800 NZD for his transgressions. The money is probably already raised by a fundraiser. In AVwebs currently ongoing poll, 4 out of 5 voters resoundingly state that they would willingly violate regulations in a matter of life or death or in what they consider warranted circumstances (undefined).

Have not read the links - not sure I need to. Do not know the Kiwi flight rules but I do remember the most important one of ours. Believe it was/is 91.3

At least a couple times I can still remember when a tower told me to call phone # 123-4567.
I told them to go read 91.3 - never heard back - radio just went quiet, and they knew where to find me.

Just to cut the nasty-grams short -- I never did it without a GOOD and SOLID reason.

Wannabe

What is expected of a military pilot is not acceptable of an equally qualified civilian pilot. We no longer have Christian values or common sense. Good man. Good job.

Paper has absolutely nothing to do with the ability of a pilot.

"Do you want to be, or do"? John Boyd. He didn't give a shit what they thought either.

I apologize for using an inappropriate, ineffective, juvenile body function cliche. Both Boyd and the Kiwi pilot were more interested in doing useful, honorable things than being certified or General or whatever.

Can a few of our high time flight instructors chime in on this one... I seem to remember that a long time ago in a galaxy far far away, my instructor telling me that in a truly legitimate emergency situation you are allowed to break any or all of the FAR's to achieve a safe outcome. Is that the 91.3 that was mentioned?

The example my instructor was using was that I could take my (brand new greenhorn student pilot Cessna 150 diamonds-on-the-forehead) ass and fly right through the (former) Terminal Control Area and land right in the middle of LAX if I had an engine out, and not be violated by the FAA. But if they walked over to the airplane and turned the key and the engine started, my head would be mounted on their wall.

What about the classic cheesy TV plot where the pilots are dead from food poisoning and the private pilot is called to land the airliner (usually a loud, smoky old 707, bless its heart ) and he heroically gets "talked down" by the old disgruntled hung over pilot on the radio? If that actually happened, would the private pilot be violated for not having the ATP and type rating?

It certainly seems to me that a life/death emergency where using an invalid pilot license is the only way that someone will survive should qualify for a pass. I don't know about NZ, but the bad press and political embarrassment that would rain down on the government would be a pretty big part of their decision to prosecute him.

As mentioned though, all the facts are not in, and there's three or four sides to the story.

EZ-Flap

91.3 is it. Not going to try to cut and paste it here - others either KNOW it or can look it up.

As to the 'phantasy' scenario. There was a dead pilot in a twin Beech (Baron)? Maybe a single?!?
I doubt the man on the radio was drunk but he did talk the wife through a step by step process and THEY did get the plane on the ground with either no, - or minimal damage.. As I recall she put it on the runway but ended off to the right side a bit. Undoubtedly there is someone out here that will know how to dig it up.

Wannabe

I think 91.3 applies to in-flight emergencies during which the certificated pilot may deviate from instructions or perform a maneuver not in accordance with the regulations, in an effort to bring the flight to a safe conclusion. Means, someone who learned to fly 18 years ago and hasn't flown once since, or had a revocation, may not just jump into an airplane to fly his pregnant wife to the emergency room.

I am sure the NZ CAA had reasons to throw the book, the pilot seems to have had run-ins with them before.
In any case, from a pool of available pilots, he was the one qualified and able to perform the mission and he stepped up to save someones life. Best course of action is to take the beating (others will smilingly pay his penalties, because they appreciate what he did) and slowly start thinking about what would have happened, had he been unwilling to violate the regs. "Dear hunter/hiker in the woods, I could have saved your bum, but decided that the fine I may get for helping you was beyond my budget. Thanks for understanding. Sorry you had to die."

Doing the right thing based on ethical reasoning may still be in complete and massive violation of the law and cost one a lot of money or put one in jail. I shared the link to the petition here when someone asked how to help. I think that petition saved the guy from certain doom and I am sure they could have aimed much higher with the penalty for his "transgression".