Boeing 737-8FE, VH-VON, Darwin Aerodrome, Northern Territory, on 9 November 2009

Section 21 (2) of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act) empowers the ATSB to discontinue an investigation at any time. Section 21 (3) of the TSI Act requires the ATSB to publish a statement setting out the reasons for discontinuing an investigation.

The ATSB had commenced an investigation into the triggering of GPWS alerts in a Boeing Company 737 during its approach to land at Darwin Airport, NT on 9 November 2009. Information obtained from the aircraft operator and the aircraft manufacturer indicated that the alerts signalled a minor problem with flap settings that the crew rectified without difficulty. The ATSB has assessed that the occurrence was unlikely to have any significant implications for transport safety and has elected to discontinue the investigation.

The data collected in the course of the investigation may be used by the ATSB for future statistical analysis and safety research purposes.