Balloon Safaris

Pilot Tells of  Seven Hours of Police Questioning

After   Serengeti Balloon

Fatal accident

Two passengers Killed, Eight injured

13 September 2012: I  received a phone call from Avon and Somerset police; Tony Pascoe has lodged a malicious and baseless complaint

13th September 2013 Initial police contact: It was late afternoon when I received a phone call from Detective Dan Wilson. I was surprised to learn that this call was initiated based on a conveniently timed complaint made by Tony just as I was about to testify in a US court against SBS. At the time, Detective Wilson would not elaborate on the nature of Pascoe’s complaint other than to say it was related to an email that I had sent.

It soon transpires that he is prepared to travel from Bristol all the way to York, a journey of around four to five hours. Obviously, he was taking Pascoe’s complaint very seriously. Again, this is a surprise, as I have been trying to attract the UK's police forces attention since way back in 2010, all to no avail. I might add that I feel that this crucial point would command the required scrutiny in any subsequent investigation, if not in any subsequent Independent Police Complains Commission involvement.

  Agreed to meet at York police station:

A meeting was agreed for the following Thursday, 20th September, at 1300 hours. At my direction, it was agreed that this would take place at York police station rather than where I was staying. The reason for this was very simple: I was staying with friends and did not want the police or any investigation to take over the household.

As I wanted to be as transparent as possible the following day, I had previously given Detective Wilson details of my change of name by Depol. Later, thinking that it could have been anyone on the phone and not a genuine police officer, I attempted to make contact with Detective Wilson. Initially, this was through York police station and online, also once again via the crime-stoppers website. Not satisfied that I was safe, I also phoned the national helpline number 101, the only number available. I spoke to a most helpful police officer named Ben, collar number 8865. At the end of the day, I was informed that Detective Wilson was on another investigation and, therefore, was not available; I was satisfied that I had managed to leave a message requesting that this detective call me.

In a subsequent phone call, Detective Wilson "O'I can see where this is going.”

Early on Saturday, the 15th of Sept, Detective Wilson called and gave assurance that, indeed, it was he who had made that initial call. During our conversation, I once more attempted to gain some insight as to what all this was about, to which he refused, saying that he wanted a spontaneous response rather than one considered. I had asked if I was to be interviewed under caution. It was only after posing this particular question that he said, “O” I can see which way this is going”, going on to say that I would be read my rights & that I was going to be interviewed under caution; however, he also said that, “that's all he was prepared to say as he did not want to leave himself wide open, heaven forbid!

Malicious charges

Just as I was about to testify in the US court against SBS

With just five days before the planned interview, I set about to gather all my records of events, all easy enough as I had been meticulous in keeping all evidence of what had taken place. At the same time, I was keeping both Chris Dewhirst & Donna updated on events. Each were shocked at the ferocity in which the police were acting; however, in each of our minds was the fact that I was about to testify against SBS In a US court; Pascoe actions were, therefore, hardly coincidental.

Investigating officers attempt to change the location at the last minute:

On the chosen day of the interview, I was just about to set off in the direction of  York Police Station when I received a call from a female police officer. By all accounts, she was travelling with Detective Wilson and approaching York. I should not have been surprised as she asked me to meet them at the place where I was staying and not to bother going to the police station!

Is this Police tactics or what?

Now, I felt that this was just tactics; I had previously read up on preparing oneself for such an interview, where I soon learnt that although we all have rights to a legal representative if interviewed at a police station, the same could not be said if one is interviewed in ones own home. I started to ask myself if this loophole in the law was now being exploited. I'll never know. However, I was not taking any chances & informed the officer that I was already on route; she did not need to know that I was on the driveway.

Being insistent:

Soon, another call came; however, weighed down with box full files/evidence, I could not reach my mobile phone before she rang off. Shortly after, another call came from the same number. Upon answering, the officer asked me to turn around and go home, stating that they would meet me there; her insistence produced the smell of a rat.

Police want to search the house:

At this point, I felt that it was most appropriate to be firm and to the point, stating that I would continue to the police station and take that matter up with them there. Apparently, they felt it would save time as they could conduct a search of the house and take possession of such things as my laptop. Now hang on a moment, SBS has had many accidents; they have killed five in three accidents; strangely, it's me that's getting pushed around, thinking to myself, well, that's only if I let them! Thinking to myself “we are not getting off to a good start”.

Attitude demolishes confidence:

In all honesty, their attitude had, to some extent, demolished what little doubt I had as to whether they had brought with them some highly unsavoury misconceptions of what had actually taken place. Having said that, I did not have any doubts that someone had successfully waved his wicked wand of deception ( something that US Judge Young later remarked upon) over evidently unsuspecting, momentarily naive police officers.

It was plainly obvious to me that these officers had not yet woken up to the fact that they were, by design, being used/abused by SBS as henchmen, just as he had done with the police in Kathmandu; the only difference here is that money would not have changed hands as it almost certainly had in Nepal.

My quick-thinking driver was accommodating, dropping me off on a side street near the police station. That car contained confidential literature, not to mention possessions that were being transported elsewhere for safekeeping, including my laptop. I waited for the car to depart before I trundled across Fulford Road, walking into the police station's grounds.

Talk of arresting me even before we'd entered the police station:

As I waited outside the doorway, my solicitor, Nik Darwin, arrived, followed soon after by the two officers. Almost immediately, there was talk of arresting me on the spot, even placing me in a cell for some time. At this time, I thought there was no end to their intimidation tactics, almost a clone of Pascoe himself. In the back of my mind, I question as to if they are on the payroll, or directed from well connected powers above. In this regard I am thinking along the lines the possibility of belonging to such as freemason to such an extent I may have been excused if I was to think the they were on the Pascoe payroll, surely not this is England. Police cell or no cell, they had missed there target, not only that, I was more determine than ever, their collective tactics had done nothing more than giveng me a shot in the arm, they got up too late in the day to pull a fast one on me like this. I ask myself,   is this how non-criminals begin the transformation to harden criminals? We were not getting off to a good start. Coming back to the possibility of freemasons, having researched this secret society, or the society with secrets as their preferred description, I think we can set that notion aside, largely owing to the prerequisite of being admitted to such a society, there's no doubt in my mind that his thin veneer of decency that is really only supported by new found wealth, would not shield the fact that might appear to be a questionable trader that’s just been involved in the last of three fatal accidents.

Solicitor: "I understand my client has been ignored by the UK police for quite some time.”

Although we had not even entered the police station, Nik Darwin was not wasting any time in earning his fee. He points out that they had not established any grounds for the need to arrest me. Nik points to the large box of files that I'm carrying. “I think that you shall find that my client is happy to finely have the opportunity to talk to you, I understand he's being ignored by the UK police for quite sometime when attempting to bring related matters to the authorities attention” At this point the two officers were thinking fast. From my obviation, what they lacked in spoken words, was more than compensated for in way of body language, each grasping their chin at that same facing each other with heads lowered, raised eyebrows.

At this point, as we all moved inside, I felt a slight change of tempo materialising. Nick, along with the two officers, made their way into a small interview room. At that time, I felt a little left out as I was not allowed into a meeting surrounding whatever crime I was supposed to have committed. Ten minutes later, all was reviled.

Harassment & Blackmail:

The door of the interview room opens, and the two detectives vacate the room as I enter. I am about to be questioned, possibly charged with harassment and blackmail. Wow, here we go. For some time, I wanted to go to court with SBS. This brings about the question, does it matter which path one takes to do so? Well yes of course it certainly does, however at this moment in time, is the choice mine? Perhaps not. With this in mind, do I go with the flow and deal with the hand dealt? Then again, with SBS having no less than six accidents, of which three proved fatal, the loss of five lives, I ask myself if I need to have any concerns, and I very much doubt it.

One thing is for sure, standing on a solid foundation of what I have said, & now to be afforded the opportunity to expose passenger safety issues and their underhanded tactics, one thing is for sure: no one is going fall asleep in court, the atmosphere will be electric. Thinking to myself that just the extensive list of carnage is more than enough to keep one's attention, however coupled with the shameless hypocrisy, many are going to depart the courtroom feeling somewhat entertained.

Investigating officer confused as to who demanded $500,000 in damages:

We all reassemble in the main hallway. I was not too surprised to note that Detective Wilson, whilst waiting to be provided with an interview room, appeared under the distinct impression that it was I that had demanded $500,000 as compensation from Pascoe, where in actual fact, it was I that had demanded of SBS to drop all such malicious charges that they had placed against me in Nepal including the absurd demand for $500,000.

Confused Detective Wilson

Before we all went into the interview room, and once I had outlined the true scenario surrounding the $500,000, Detective Wilson appeared ever so confused. Finally, yet somewhat sheepishly, Wilson made a phone call to Pascoe to seek calcification.

Once in the interview room, with CDs installed, I made a point of seeking clarification from Detective Wilson. He explained that Pascoe confirmed that it was he who had made such a demand and that the figure was one that he had simply picked out of the air and that he felt represented what he had actually lost as a result of my website.

Obviously, if I had indeed demanded $500,000 from Tony Pascoe, this would unquestionably justify this investigation's intensity. Equally obvious is that up until that phone call to Pascoe, Dt Wilson was wrongly under the impression that Pascoe was referring to the fact that I had demanded such a figure. There's no question that Wilson is an intelligent man, but I question how he managed to get it so wrong. Was he purposely led astray?

SBS  deceptive practices:

This begs the question, was this a mistake on Detective Wilson's behalf or had Pascoe been purposely deceptive when making his complaint? ( the phrase deception starts to appear in evidence quite frequently when referring to Tony Pascoe) I shall be highlighting what I consider to be frequent incidences of deception throughout this site. Judge Young Massachusetts court confirms deceptive practices.

Financially difficult times Nigel:

A court might find it somewhat difficult to accept Pascoe's claim, given his written remark before my sacking: “We are in difficult times”. At the time, he was referring to the financial crisis and hundreds, if not thousands, of cancelled bookings. This demand of $500,000 adds to the long list of Pascoe attempted scare tactics that a less well-traveled individual might fall for, my theory being that Pascoe only wanted to silence me one way or the other. I believe that as Pascoe was unable to achieve that result by earlier threats of taking me to a civil court on his claim of defamation, he has now turned his attention to other possible avenues of intimidation, not to mention the obvious retribution.

With this point now cleared up, I could not help observing Wilson's expressions; he looked somewhat stunned, slightly off-balance, even to the point of perhaps wondering why he had actually travelled the five hours to York. At the same time, I observed that his complexion appeared to lighten. It appeared to me that it took some time for him to get back on track after such a damaging derailment. As he was now committed, if he was to justify his action, he had to make something of this.

Once ushered into the rather stark windowless interview room, three CDs were loaded into a black contraption mounted on the wall above the table, one that's bolted down to the floor. Initially, one of the visiting officers experienced difficulty operating this system; she quickly explained that it was not the same as they are used to in Somerset. At the time, I could not help thinking that in Yorkshire, we may do a lot of things differently!  Yorkshireman is renowned for never beating about the bush; we never use two words when one will do; the reality is clear; we tell it as it is, and in doing so, we speak the truth at the same time, shame the devil.

With CDs correctly installed, the machine activated, and I immediately read my rights. Once formalities are concluded, we all get down to business. Despite their method of questioning (I felt that they came across as presuming I was guilty of the proposed charges, slightly aggressive), things were going quite well, so much so that time was passing quickly. I was quite enjoying finally having the opportunity to answer questions put to me.  These investigated officers appear to have failed to recognise that I have been attempting to involve the UK police force since 2010. If justice is to be done, any presiding judge would require a full historical account of all circumstances that have brought us to this juncture.

Observing their impetuous gestures, hand with pen gesticulating towards me, a gesture that I quickly translated as an indication that they wanted to interrupt what I had to say. I was having none of that, thinking they had brought me here, they were asking the questions, and they would get my appropriate answers, not necessarily the ones you want to hear. That said, it became thirsty work. Perhaps I should say at this point that I strongly suspect when talking to non-aviation personnel, even these educated police officers, it is often the case that the slightest technical details can be easily lost. For this reason, I spent a great deal of time explaining the intricacies surrounding our profession. Even then, these explanations would have to be magnified if I was ever placed before the court. At no point did I feel that I had needlessly gone over the top in the details covered. It would be fair to report that these detectives had much to digest on a subject decidedly foreign to themselves.

The officers have notes laid out before them; they appear to have a planned line of questioning, yet appear to be confused, jumping from one point to another; appeared disorganised, perhaps something to do with having to apply themselves and keep up with detailed information that I was supplying. I remain focused, yet simultaneously happy to explain in depth all that they place before me. Okay, so they were always in control; in such circumstances, how could it be otherwise? Nevertheless, despite frequent remarks that we shall seize your computer and possibly charge me, I was as comfortable as one can be in such circumstances; I had waited a long time to talk to the police, and I was in no rush to go anywhere.

When all was said and done, I was the only pilot in the room; yes, with legal activities taking place in the USA, it would not be unreasonable to assume that Pascoe was undoubtedly perspiring in a darkened corner. The last thing he wanted was me in the same courtroom; he desperately needed to bring about a distraction along the lines of Look, Pogmore, if you testify in the US, we shall continue to pursue you in any way we can. Ironically, something that a court and jury will be very aware of, is that the only crime I have committed is warning the public of accidents to come. I have not killed or injured anyone, whereas their hot air balloon company has. I feel that Pascoe is having to really have dig deep, I believe that this was undoubtedly a knee-jerk reaction, delivered from desperate man looking for a way out, yet he has not thought this through. What is he going to do once he has spent this card? Once he's out of his corner, he finds himself dangerously exposed in the middle of the ring.

During the early hours of questioning, it was mentioned that we would most likely be spending the next day in the interview room; thinking to myself, wow, two full days, now that's serious stuff. No matter, I'm up for this! Besides, I have a stack of incriminating information that has been waiting to see the light of day.

At about the four to five-hour mark into proceedings, I was well into explaining the legal activities (against SBS) that were taking place in the USA. At this point, Nik played our ace card in the way of presenting a letter from Donna. As they read this bombshell, I could think of nothing better to do than sit and wait in silence; now was not the time for me to say a word; I had already said quite a lot. I thought to myself that he who spoke next was lost.

It seems that the silence was as long as it was deafening, perhaps it wasn't’t that long.

With the female officer sitting directly opposite myself, she cast her eye over this bombshell, did I see her gulp? I could almost here her thoughts, at the same time with her head lowered she glanced towards her colleague who was sitting at right angles to her, making eye contact once more eyebrows raised, I felt she was indicating to her colleague that he should read this now.

Soon, Donna’s letter was placed in the hands of her colleague. I believe the female officer, sorry I can't remember her name, continued questioning me as Detective Wilson read. Later once he placed this letter back on the table, it became so apparent that they were slowly turning in a new direction, however at the same time feeling rather uneasy, I felt that their questioning became even more haphazard. At this juncture, they both stepped outside to confer with each other before re-entering the room.

Det Wilson pulls out a letter from Kathmandu-based Phintos Ongdi, obviously a letter that Pascoe had procured. It was not in any way complimentary towards me, but why should it be? After all, I had caught Phintso red-handed with his hands in the till. He had attempted to divert revenue away from the books, subsequently away from the two absent Australian partners. My Investigation into accounting irregularities led me to the safe, a safe that contained many thousands of missing revenue dollars which I then took legal possession on behalf of other directors.

Referring to a time when I was working in Kathmandu in 1999, after leaning on the accountant ever so lightly, he agreed to hand this missing cash over to me. Thereafter, with the help of the Australian Embassy, these funds were handed over to the two Australian Partners, namely the very grateful Chris Dewhirst and Nik Kossdos of World Expeditions.

There were muffled mutterings of two other letters from other un-trusted balloon companies/pilot Nik Duffield. At this time, Nick Darwin interrupts, asking Detective Wilson if he's actually interviewed these informants, to which he replies no. Nick Darwin immediately informed them "well you can put them away now, the officer sheepishly complied.

Moving on, other discriminatory letters that Pascoe had procured were Regarding my time in Chicago, I have given the police two bounced pay cheques along with a sheriff notice indicating their intention to gain access to our pilot accommodation, (apartment) in order to take possession of goods to the value of unpaid rent ( Kent Chicago) I also gave over an unpaid IOU to the tune of no less than $8000 represent Australian Peter Stewart for work carried out on his behalf in Sri Lanka. I had refused to fly his uninsured, uncertified sixteen-man balloon. Additionally, the Sri Lankan CAA had ordered me not to fly his balloon until Stewart had satisfied all normal aviation documentation requirements. I understand that it was not until one year later that this company became operational.

All this undoubtedly goes in my favour yet does nothing to improve my prospects in the balloon rides industry. In fact, at the age of 57, work prospects of any description are now very slim, particularly now that I am noted as a whistleblower. A case of dammed if you do, and dammed if you don't clearly exist, creating enormous financial repercussions for myself and my wife.

As for the characters relied on to discredit me, I can't think about why Pascoe would want to rely on such questionable characters. In a case like this, what's the jury going to think? He's relying on my previous employer, who has been stealing money from his business partners, secondly the balloon operator with no licence to operate, also an American lawyer/balloon operator attempting to pay pilots with bouncy salary cheques.  Pascoe had more up his sleeve in the way of two of my so-called mates/pilots who would say anything to retain their livelihood with SBS or anywhere within the industry. That's the best he can do in his vain attempt to discredit me, it will not wash before legitimate jury. Pascoe actually spoke to Chris Dewhirst before and after my employment.

It's very apparent that had Mr Pascoe done so, he would only received a positive response that would do nothing to further his case.

During questioning a reference was made, that throughout my web site, I always made reference to just Pascoe ( None Pilot) & not to his partner Mackinnon (pilot) This was easy to explain.

Other than in 2009, Colin Mackinnon has never got directly involved himself with me, he's has never corresponded with me (will other than in early 2009) Nevertheless you would find evidence on my earlier web site that I did ask as to where Colin had gone to in all of this. It was all very strange as it completely disappeared from the scene. In such deplorable circumstances, questions must be asked as to why Pascoe felt that he was qualified to get involved in explaining matters relating to the actual flying of passenger aircraft rather than MacKinnon. He is an entrepreneur, maybe an accountant with nothing more than a very sharp pencil. This has me enquiring if Mackinnon has voluntarily been left in the dust as all the carnage is taking place & decided to run for cover. Could it be that Pascoe has got something on him ? During any subsequent court case we shall be afforded the opportunity to cross rigorously- examine both Pascoe & Colin MacKinnon. For what it’s worth, Colin once confided in me stating that Tony had a habit of pissing off pilots, however it was always he who had the difficult task of finding pilots that were prepared to live in the Serengeti for long periods of time. In Colin's words “not as easy as one might think more often than not pilots quickly come and go”.

During the many hours of questioning, we took numerous breaks; I remember a total of three. Having been courteously provided with numerous liquid refreshments, I took these opportunities to go to the loo for a pee. Keep in mind I was there of my own free will however on each occasion Detective Wilson insists that he escorted me to the loo and remained outside the windowed door. This could well indicate that I was being treated as a criminal. I had previously willingly handed over my dictaphone that contained the conversation with Tony Pascoe recorded at the time of my sacking. Additionally, I handed over an 8 GB memory stick that I purposely purchased in order to provide these investigating officers with crucial documentation relating to their investigations. It was also agreed that they would photocopy or my documentation that I brought along with me. These totaling several hundred pages. Apparently, I was supposed to be given the originals back; however all I only received photocopies. Whether this matters or not, I'm not too sure.

It seem very clear that unless I agreed to hand over my laptop, it would be forced from me one way or the other. Whilst I have no objections to the police having a copy of my hard drive or indeed leaving me with a copy, it cannot be denied that by actively taking the laptop with the original hard drive places me at a serious disadvantage. 1st like most people I rely heavily on a laptop, more so that as a dyslexic that relies on voice recognition programs, therefore I was left in no mans land.  I now question if this was indeed intentional.

An additional factor is that I’m dealing with the employment tribunal. Whilst in the UK, I had been communicating with the Judge More who conducted a pre-hearing enquiry. With the employment tribunal unable to take the case further, than pre hearing ( jurisdiction) I have plans in place to take it to a higher court, namely the Supreme Court. Unfortunately all my work relating to this next move are within the seized laptop. Once again it appears that Pascoe has slithered himself into a situation where he has manipulated the situation, commandeered the UK police force to place himself in an advantageous position. Despite SBS passengers' deaths and injuries, he seems well-practised in leading a charmed life.

Worthy note here, having just read Massachusetts court judge Young's ruling, it is duly noted that SBS appears to be out of their jurisdiction also. Given that Tony Pascoe verbally admitted to being able to pay bribes to the Tanzanian authorities, questions must be raised about where SBS might be brought to account. Obviously, there is no doubt that compensatory and punitive damages would normally be awarded in such cases. Worryingly, it’s becoming more evident that Serengeti Balloon Safaris are allowed to bask in seclusion and out of reach of both the aviation and litigation processes. Not only do SBS escape normal legal proceedings, they remain at liberty to bring about harm/damage/ deaths to passengers, behave in a threatening manner towards pilots that have dared to raised concerns surrounding questionable operational procedures.

Should an air operator such as Serengeti Balloon Safaris be allowed to continue this way, pilots within its employ would be hesitant to voice any continuing/future passenger safety concerns. This would leave the travelling public at great risk, so it must be addressed either in the courts and/or publicly. Each procedure would assist in public awareness.

As things stand at this moment, it appears to bear similarities on a hypothetical situation whereby a would-be hijacker enters the cockpit of a passenger aircraft, places the aircraft passengers in danger. Thereafter, once the hijackers are exposed, the same hijackers are afforded legal facilities whereby they are unaccountable to the authorities. Unfortunately the same cannot be said that the pilot that activated the hijack warning code via the aircrafts transponder. Quite the contrary, the pilots now becomes targeted by the very authorities that are supposedly in place to protect pilots and passengers alike the question that begs announcer is, is this really England? Or somewhere in the Middle East where young rape girl, gets 100 lashes for having sex underage and out of wedlock. Totally ridiculous.

Right from the onset of communications with the UK police force, I’ve made it abundantly clear that I'd taken personal security measures in order to protect myself and my wife; they know the full details regarding this. When seizing the laptop, both officers appeared respectful of my concerns for my safety.

Additionally, in keeping with my recorded requests, once we arrived at the place where I was staying, both offices exercised an appropriate amount of respect, acknowledging that this was not my house. Thereafter, in keeping with my requests, they did not venture past the hallway, at the same time standing directly outside my bedroom door. Once the requested laptop was handed over, they did not conduct a search of my bedroom as they could have. Then again, everything was conducted on a voluntary basis!

Had I not volunteered, there were indications that they would have used force in the form of a warrant and/or arrest of myself. I took this apparent cooling of their initial intentions to indicate that they had taken on board crucial aspects that I and brought to their attention, particularly legitimate concerns regarding physical threats, hacking of my computers, the xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxx x xxx

Worthy of note is that once we departed the interview, I was led to the desk, the very desk where I was booked in; apparently, now I'm going to be booked out. The female detective indicated that she wanted me to supply fingerprints. Initially, I questioned this: did they have any right to take my fingerprints? She replied well, you have a few aliases. This did not rest easy with me, but then again, I have nothing to hide; in fact, quite the contrary. Therefore, I wondered what the hell.

A discussion took place when I approached the female police officer situated behind the desk. Everything was very polite & professional. Suddenly, I was ushered into a secluded area, of a transparent interview room that was positioned directly in front of the desk. At all times, we could all see each other, however, not hear the conversations taking place. I got the impression that the female officer booking me out had questioned the legitimacy behind the detective’s request to take my fingerprints. I presume this resulted in the York-based police lady informing Avon and Somerset detective that I was there of my own free will; no fingerprints were taken, well, not officially!

While nobody likes to have the police take away one's possessions, particularly expensive and irreplaceable Macintosh computers, their actions were far removed from those they initially indicated, i.e., using the force of one means or another. Of course, it remains to be seen whether these earlier strategically placed innuendos were designed purely in order to gain agreement to me voluntarily handing over the required laptop. This may later become a topic of discussion with the independent police complaints commission if, indeed, it is deemed necessary to take such action.

  Once my solicitor and I was separated, I received advice from Detective Wilson, as well as who I now know as Detective Louise Catlin

During the ride to the place where I was staying in order for the police to seize my computer, Detective Wilson turned to me and said, “Nigel. Although I know that you haven’t got your solicitor with you now, I would like to give you some advice” I accepted, “Detective Wilson went on to say that I should not update my website any further for if I do  he would arrest me and he didn’t want to do that. At the time, I thought he was being friendlier, but then later, I felt that he was playing into Tony Pascoe’s hands, which is all very concerning.

In conclusion, overall, I felt that the interview/questioning went reasonably well; looking back at this whole scenario weeks later, I’m of the mind that within 90 min or so of questioning, the officers realised that there was far more to this than they were initially aware of. Should we later find out that both Tony Pascoe's and MacKinnon's computers have also been seized in the same manner as mine, it would undoubtedly raise some serious questions as to whether investigations are actually being conducted appropriately and unbiased; only time will tell.

Can I trust the investigating team?

Now residing in a different location, I question whether I should inform Detective Wilson and his colleague of my whereabouts, niggling away at me is the fact that I have nothing to hide, therefore really, I would like to be very open with the UK police. As many would appreciate, we are dealing with a potentially dangerous case, one that could easily escalate at any moment. At the same time, I requested an update on the case. I have written to my solicitor, Nick Darwin, and shall await his instructions.

November 2010, looking for an update from Detective Wilson

Nick Darwin later contacted me, stating that he had been in contact with the Avon and Somerset police, informing me that they were under the impression that I'd been sending harassing emails to the complainant since the questioning took place. I found this all very strange as I have said everything that I've got to say to Tony Pascoe. I subsequently requested a copy of the alleged offensive email. In no way surprising to me, there has been nothing forthcoming.

Maintaining personal security:

It should be noted at this juncture that I'm no longer prepared to write direct e-mails to Detective Wilson or his colleagues as this would give away my exact location that is contained in e-mail long headers It would be advantageous to this enquiry if the UK police force made a concerted effort thereafter & provide me with timely updates of proceedings as well as appropriate reassurances that my interests are also being addressed at the highest possible level, Something I very much doubt at this moment in time. With concerns for our personal safety, not to mention fair play, it may be wise to ask others to communicate directly with Detective Wilson on my behalf.

Avon and Somerset Chief Inspector suspended:

Edited November 2014: it is duly noted that Chief Inspector Nick Gargan, the very officer who signed my arrest warrant, has recently been suspended from Avon and Somerset Constabulary. Investigations are taking place into his alleged inappropriate behaviour towards female officers; however, most interestingly, there is a second complaint of allegedly passing on police information to outsiders.

Update 3rd February 2013:

I sent the above document to Detective Wilson at the time of completion (November 2012), requesting his view if I was to publish it. I never received a response, so I presume that he had no issue with its publication.

Referring to the duration of the interview, it concluded on 20 September without the need to return the following day as initially indicated. The investigating detectives received an enormous amount of information; mind-boggling comes to mind.

Whilst I have concerns surrounding how this case has been handled, I respect the fact that these detectives may have been burdened by misinformation before meeting me.

January 2013:

The fact that investigating officers had given indication that they were of the mind that I'd been sending harassing emails to the complainant was weighing on my mind. As far as I'm concerned, I've never sent any harassing emails  Either prior to questioning or thereafter. Prior to questioning, I had approached Serengeti Balloon Safaris for information regarding their equipment and work practices; I had responded to their public announcement that they welcomed any inspection announced or otherwise. SBS failed to respond to such requests. Naturally, they're very uncomfortable when their safety practice is challenged, particularly so by their former pilot and safety officer. The fact remains that  I possess damning information that SBS would not want to be made public.

From my perspective, it seemed that Avon and Somerset police, for some unexplainable reason, were tending to favor SBS's interests rather than my concerns surrounding not only public safety but also my personal safety. It is almost as if SBS were being protected from afar. If this is so, whether this was actioned directly from the actual investigating team or from above remains to be uncovered.

IPCC &  Police Commissioner  Sue Mountstevens:

With all the above in mind I was high time to approach the Independent police complaints commission. Unfortunately, it didn't take me long to realise that this organisation has been known to have its problems; it's probably not as independent as the public is led to believe. For reasons that should by now be most apparent, (stepping forward to speak out on the topic of passenger safety concerns) I was seriously frustrated with the lack of commitment demonstrated to me by  the commission, that I decided to write directly to the Police Commissioner Sue Mountstevens.

Edited 5 November 2014:

Police Commissioner  Sue Mountstevens places whistleblowing jeopardy

Interestingly, or was it coincidentally, it was revealed two days ago that the police commissioner  Sue Mountstevenss, whilst in conversation with the above-mentioned disgraced Chief Inspector Nick Gargan, revealed the name of the whistleblower to the accused Chief Inspector. Commissioner Sue Moun stevens has since issued an apology to the female officer that had made allegations against the chief inspector. End of edit.

Time to approach the  Home Secretary Theresa May:

In the weeks ahead,   in the interest of required transparency, in order to shine some clarity on what has actually taken place, I intend to publish a detailed area within this website exposing dealings that I have encountered with the Independent police complaints commission. Concurrently, I shall highlight problems I have experienced when requesting personal information held by UK police authorities. This was during the time when the Freedom of Information Act 1998 was being exercised. For now I can assure you that with this case heading for the personal attention of the Home Secretary Theresa May, there's bound to be a few surprises in store for all parties caught up in this rather unnecessarily protracted case.

World's Worst Balloon Accident 2013: 19 passesgers Killed

LATER: With the Egyptian accident having taken 19 lives, very much on my mind at this time, I genuinely believe it's time for ALL pilots to speak out and not be intimidated by company owners or, indeed, other authorities now more than ever, it's not in the best interest of public safety not to do so