Pilot says he disagreed with tower's weather call

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The Pacific Blue pilot charged with carelessly operating a Boeing 737 told a court yesterday he disagreed with weather information from Queenstown air traffic controllers, but denied taking a "he knew best" attitude.

The 54-year-old Auckland pilot's flying ability was supported by Christian Rush, his first officer on the June 22, 2010 flight.

Mr Rush, who took the stand at Queenstown District Court late yesterday, said the defendant was a far better aviator than him.

The pilot, with 33 years' experience, was in charge of a Sydney-bound flight carrying 71 passengers.

For a second day he defended his judgment of departing in marginal weather conditions of cloud, crosswinds and a wet runway.

He said he was aware of the wind and noted gusts were becoming further apart.

"On the day, I based my decision on my experience and what I had seen. The ultimate assessment for thetake-off is the pilot and his judgment."

He told the court that after asking the control tower on "three or four occasions" for an update on the weather, they had come back to him with different perspectives that to him were "incorrect".

Audio evidence heard yesterday indicated the pilot and control tower operators disagreed over an assessment of the weather directly before departure, including the crosswind strength and cloud altitude.

Operators recorded cloud below 1500ft (457m) and winds up to 20 knots, but the Auckland pilot said he assessed otherwise.

- Otago Daily Times