Fairchild SA227-AC, VH-UZP, near Casino Aerodrome, New South Wales, on 24 December 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.

An investigation was commenced into a pitch down event involving a Fairchild Industries Inc. SA226-AC on a scheduled freight flight from Moree, NSW to Brisbane, Qld on 24 December 2009. Information from tests conducted by the aircraft operator, on the aircraft after the flight, did not reveal any problems with the aircraft and it was returned to service. The ATSB's analysis of flight recorder data did not disclose any additional safety information. The ATSB has assessed that further investigation was unlikely to produce any benefit 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.