Mark Skidmore resigns from AOPA

[pmccarthy]

a long article in the Australian this morning about how Mr Skidmore resigned fromAOPA yesterday over its criticism of CASA

 

 

[JEM]

More here

 

http://vocasupport.com/casa-ceo-mark-skidmore-resigns-as-an-aopa-member/

 

 

[pmccarthy]

I just joined AOPA about five minutes ago and sent them an email supporting the Eureka initiative.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

CASA not interested in consultation, that will come as no surprise.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

Air safety boss Mark Skidmore has been accused of a spectacular “dummy spit” after quitting the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, apparently over its criticism of aviation red tape.

 

Mr Skidmore, aviation safety director at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, sent an email to the AOPA at 8.02pm on Saturday advising it to: “Please cancel my membership with immediate effect as I no longer want to be associated with AOPA.”

 

Mr Skidmore did not give a reason for the resignation but it came a day after AOPA president Marc De Stoop met federal Major Projects Minister Paul Fletcher to present him with an expert briefing paper exposing “inappropriate … regulation that has decimated our once-thriving general aviation industry”.

 

Mr De Stoop told The Australian he was surprised and disappointed that Mr Skidmore, a former Royal Australian Air Force air vice-marshal, had resigned from the association.

 

“It’s unfortunate because it wasn’t a personal attack on Mr Skidmore; it’s just that we couldn’t get any significant traction (dealing with CASA),” Mr De Stoop said.

 

The 130-page “Project Eureka” briefing document is scathing of aviation bureaucracies, blaming creeping over-regulation for a dramatic decline in aircraft movements at secondary airports and in aviation mechanical engineering apprenticeships.

 

In a letter to Mr Fletcher, posted with the report on AOPA’s website on Friday, Mr De Stoop claims “government bureaucrats, through lack of understanding of the need for businesses to be commercially viable, have failed this industry”.

 

The letter quotes an author of the report, aviation safety expert Ken Lewis, as warning that CASA would seek to bury the document.

 

“The politicians will send it to CASA for guidance; CASA will then defer comment as long as they can, which will be after any coming election,” Mr Lewis’s advice reads.

 

Mr Skidmore fired off his email to AOPA the following evening.

 

Mr De Stoop said he did not believe Mr Skidmore’s resignation was an attempt to intimidate aircraft owners or pilots, but other aviation experts warned that may be the consequence.

 

Veteran aviator and former CASA chairman Dick Smith told The Australian he thought Mr Skidmore, who flies his own Globe GC-1B Swift, a stylish sports monoplane, was sending the wrong message.

 

“It’s outrageous that just because he’s an active general aviation pilot and for the first time in 10 years the AOPA actually criticises CASA, he as the director immediately resigns his membership,” Mr Smith said.

 

“It’s so pointed. Everyone will hear about this and the message will be, don’t join AOPA or identify with it.”

 

Mr Skidmore was understood to be travelling overseas yesterday; he did not respond to The Australian’s calls and emails.

 

Mr De Stoop said he understood that Mr Fletcher had been asked by Malcolm Turnbull to investigate ways that cuts to general aviation red tape could revitalise the industry.

 

AOPA represents 2600 general aviation aircraft owners and pilots in private, commercial charter and airline operations.

 

Mr De Stoop said its Eureka report recommended privatising Airservices Australia and using the proceeds to help revitalise the industry, while “radically” streamlining regulation.

 

 

[Yenn]

Maybe Mr Skidmore resigned from the wrong body.

 

Looks as if he just spat the dummy, so we can draw our own conclusions from that. I assume he is standing firm behind the beaurocrats. So much for those who thought he would be an improvement on the past directors.

 

 

[up-into-the-air]

Yes there are serious moves afoot, with Marc de Stoop taking positive action [He said to me on Sunday am: "....looks like we won't be on the casa Xmas card list anymore....!!"]

 

This is parallel to the Dick Smith letter to #casa nad I am sure he will go to the Federal Court. D-day is 14th April 2016.

 

MTF: Proper reform of #casa - Dick Smith action

 

[/url]

 

and the letter to #casa

 

 

[Diddy Pilot]

Maybe Mr Skidmore resigned from the wrong body.Looks as if he just spat the dummy, so we can draw our own conclusions from that. I assume he is standing firm behind the beaurocrats. So much for those who thought he would be an improvement on the past directors.

Maybe; but then you might ask how much does CASA pay as opposed to what Mr Skidmore would get from AOPA? One delivers a greater personal benefit and will win when a decision needs to be made.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

“government bureaucrats, through lack of understanding of the need for businesses to be commercially viable, ...”.

Gee, there's a shock.

 

 

[jakej]

IMO DAS is NOT the problem here, it's the beaurocrats & the legal department - they "control" government department heads/ministers & no real improvement to the aviation industry can be made until they can be sacked or held accountable.

 

It's really sad that nearly all those who TRY to make a living out of aviation feel intimidated by CASA & therefore cannot speak up for fear of retribution through bastardisation by some there.

 

I believe the behaviour by some in CASA is actually causing the accident rate to go up. Maybe it's about time this was all brought out in the open to the public?

 

 

[DonRamsay]

My view is that this is all a journalist trying to beat up a story out of nothing.

 

It could be that AOPA's action prompted Mr Skidmore to wonder about the appropriateness of the DAS/CEO at CASA being a member of an organisation whose reason for being is to represent its members in opposing CASA.

 

I'd want a bit more evidence than resigning from AOPA to show that Mr Skidmore has been dragged over to the dark side.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

I'd want a bit more evidence

I'll nick over to Facebook and see if I can dig up some facts.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

My view is that this is all a journalist trying to beat up a story out of nothing.It could be that AOPA's action prompted Mr Skidmore to wonder about the appropriateness of the DAS/CEO at CASA being a member of an organisation whose reason for being is to represent its members in opposing CASA.

 

I'd want a bit more evidence than resigning from AOPA to show that Mr Skidmore has been dragged over to the dark side.

Good point Don and probably on the money. My own experience of CASA is that they have been friendly and helpful to me, but I know enough people who have had bad experiences to have joined AOPA today and to hope their campaign is successful. Clearly Mark Skidmore is part of the potential solution rather than part of the problem.

 

 

[old man emu]

Here's a link to another Australian aviation forum, and discussion of the Eureka Project.

 

http://auntypru.com/forum/-AOPA-Australia-Project-Eureka

 

OME

 

 

[Jim McDowall]

appropriateness of the DAS/CEO at CASA being a member of an organisation whose reason for being is to represent its members in opposing CASA.

Don,

Being an advocate organiation like SAAA does not necessarily equate to opposing CASA. Lobbying is about representing your clients best interests which may or may not be congruent with CASA's. In my experience if you take this sort of attitude into a discussion with a regulator you will not do as well as you might if you adopt a less passionate position.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

My view is that this is all a journalist trying to beat up a story out of nothing.

I remember when Don Ramsay resigned from the board of the RAA, again another media beatup

 

 

[Birdseye]

Who cares? Makes no difference whatsoever as to what/who/where Mark Skidmore or anyone else is affiliated with. Nobody tells the truth these days, so should anyone worry.

 

 

[coljones]

My view is that this is all a journalist trying to beat up a story out of nothing.snip snip snip.

Well, it was "The Australian" after all.

 

 

[dutchroll]

I've worked with Mark Skidmore when we were doing introductory testing in the Air Force of a new aircraft. I found him to be very diligent and of the utmost integrity, and a genuinely nice bloke too - a sentiment shared by others who worked with him as far as I know.

 

If he resigned from anything, it's unlikely to have been for some pointless reason.

 

 

[Jim McDowall]

If Mr Skidmore is smart enough to recognise the conflict of interest inherent in his membership of AOPA and his position at CASA maybe some board members of CASA should resign from other organisations such as GFA (Anita Taylor) and Jeff Boyd (Regional Aviation Association of Australia and a Director of Jetfast Aviation Pty Ltd). If you want to extend this thought pattern to other areas of governance maybe most of the Reserve Bank Board should resign. The conflict of interest argument is hollow at best UNLESS you know what is in the Project Eureka document (is it a publicly available?). Clearly the document's content and public knowledge of its existence upset Mr Skidmore to the point where he felt he could no longer be a member of AOPA .

 

 

[facthunter]

People will draw their own conclusions. I personally think it's a bit like the previous incumbent threatening to sue people who publicly criticised him. No one is expected to be right all the time and criticism is inevitable

 

. It looks thin skinned. When you take that job on , you can't expect a ride without bumps. As I've said before, AOPA is the only show that can come straight out and call CASA out without fear. I fully support their current action. Its appropriate and timely and NEEDED. IF Skidmore doesn't realise there is a perceived problem with CASA he shouldn't be leading it. He would have to be out of touch, or unusually sheltered from reality. Nev

 

 

[dutchroll]

I'm sure Skidmore realises there is a perception problem with CASA just as I'm equally sure he realises there are actual problems with the way CASA works. I doubt very, very much that he's out of touch with reality as I know him to be an intelligent and astute person who checks his facts before shooting his mouth off.

 

I don't know the full story, but I'd venture to say that:

 

a) if someone really ticked him off, then it is likely that what they said or did was pretty ordinary behaviour.

 

b) if he perceived there was some sort of conflict that he needed to move away from, then it is likely that there was actually a real conflict.

 

AOPA are no band of angels. I used to know a past President of AOPA. He was a complete .......... (enter derogatory descriptive word of your choice here), and that was a near universal opinion from other pilots who'd known him too.

 

 

[facthunter]

You are going back a very long way with the AOPA president you refer to, so that I would suggest is irrelevant in the present context. Their (AOPA) action is definitely appropriate at this time.. I hope there are some positive results from it. Someone may choose to place the submission here for information. Nev

 

 

[M61A1]

I hope you are right DR, because in my experience ex-defence management (officers and SNCOs) are usually not used to listening and are very used to telling people how it's going to be, and usually with a bottomless pit of money to do it. The ones that aren't are an exception, not the rule.

 

 

[dutchroll]

I hope you are right DR, because in my experience ex-defence management (officers and SNCOs) are usually not used to listening and are very used to telling people how it's going to be, and usually with a bottomless pit of money to do it. The ones that aren't are an exception, not the rule.

I spent 16 years in the ADF as an Officer. People from Defence actually end up a fairly broad cross-section of personalities, although they are taught to use authority when they have it. Some are absolute, complete tossers. Some are really genuinely trying to improve things, with mixed success. The common denominator is that the personalities don't change. The tossers stay tossers forever, and the good blokes stay good blokes forever - generally speaking in my own experience.

Don't for a minute think the civil world is all enlightened. In my current 16 years of working for a very large "iconic aussie airline" which has been a private corporation for as long as I've worked for them, I have encountered a roughly equal number of complete and utter tossers in senior managerial positions who have no military background at all. Which leads me to depressingly believe that nothing ever changes, no matter where you work and what your background is.

 

Stick an AOPA executive in the CASA CEO position. You reckon everything is going to suddenly start going your way? You reckon the entire rest of the aviation community- commercial operators, military, etc, etc, out there will roll over to AOPA's way of thinking? You reckon they'll last long before the Government sacks them? You're absolutely on drugs if you do.