26 October 2016
‘Bird in a Biplane’ pilot Tracey Curtis-Taylor has come out fighting against what she calls “false assertions” about her various flight expeditions. “I consider this to be part of a course of conduct designed to cause damage and distress,” said Curtis-Taylor in a statement on her Facebook page.
This follows the rescinding on an award made by the Light Aircraft Association (LAA) to Curtis-Taylor for her 2014 Cape Town to UK flight in a Boeing Stearman biplane. A vote to rescind the award at the LAA’s annual general meeting on 22 October was carried by a majority of proxy votes.
Curtis-Taylor said, “I have stated publicly previously (11 June 2016) that I am deeply disappointed at the comments coming from a particular source making false assertions that my flight expeditions should have been executed as solo flights and that I have claimed them as such. I have previously stated they were not ‘solo flights’. They are all about a collaborative team effort and celebrating the brilliant achievements of women like Amy Johnson and Lady Heath who made history when aviation was in its infancy.
“The source referred to is Sam Rutherford who was initially a flight planning and logistics sub-contractor to the Africa expedition,” continued Curtis-Taylor’s statement.
“Mr Rutherford has engaged in an online media campaign to discredit me and the BIAB team members by making false assertions concerning the expeditions and the roles of team members. I consider this to be part of a course of conduct designed to cause damage and distress.”
Curtis-Taylor told the Telegraph, “I began with the intention of trying to fly the Africa flight solo, but a combination of elements resulted in fundamental changes being made to the nature of that expedition.
“Several people flew with me on multiple legs between Cape Town and the UK. These included sponsors, film crew and my engineer, Ewald Gritsch.”
Tracey Curtis-Taylor giving a talk.
In reply, Sam Rutherford told FLYER:
“The word ‘solo’ is in the public domain an almost innumerable number of times, I am not aware of a single time that this has been corrected by her until recently.
“Whilst my complaint has always been about the veracity of her statements, I have obviously been very, very careful to only state that which I know to be absolutely, and demonstrably, true. This remains the case.”
Tracey Curtis Taylor’s full statement is here
