Entrepreneur Dick Smith has written an open letter to former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson urging him to “use his affect” to assist change airspace legal guidelines which he’s adamant will “save lives”.
Mr Smith mentioned Australia at present has a system the place airline aircrafts are “flying round in cloud” not below air site visitors management forcing pilots to contact one another with a purpose to keep away from collisions.
He mentioned no different nation on this planet aside from “small components of Africa” have such a system, and it was attributable to be reformed when John Anderson was transport minister in 2002.
“Underneath John Anderson we had been going to alter to the US system the place all of the airline plane in cloud are below air site visitors management; That by no means occurred, we’ve now had 15 fatalities in uncontrolled airspace,” Mr Smith mentioned.
“Within the days with John Anderson, he wasn’t a Greg Hunt Well being Minster sort, he didn’t rise up and promote the system. You had some pilots who believed that flying round in uncontrolled airspace was okay.”
“John Anderson by no means acquired up and bought it, and due to that it by no means occurred”.
Mr Smith mentioned he wrote the open letter to the previous deputy prime minister partly to “fire up some publicity,” but additionally to persuade Mr Anderson of the necessity for pressing reform.
“I consider he’d be horrified when he reads my letter and realizes there’s been 15 fatalities. He’ll need to do one thing about it”.
“I’m speaking to the present minister too, he’s organized a gathering, he mentioned he’s going to see what he can do about it.
“John Anderson is the important thing I feel to bringing it in as a result of he can use his affect.”
Mr Anderson has advised Sky Information he hasn’t but obtained Mr Smith’s letter however mentioned in a press release he sees “no benefit” for aviation or the general public in “rehashing of our totally different views”.