The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is assisting the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) with the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragic accident involving a Boeing 737-400 on 7 March 2007 at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

As part of this assistance, the ATSB will download and analyse data from both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) recovered from the aircraft. Depending on the extent of damage, this may involve significant time in transferring data to new black box chassis before download and then analysis. If there is useable data, preliminary results are expected early next week.

The recorders are arriving in Canberra today at approximately 12.00 (midday) at the Corporate Air Facilities at Canberra Airport. The recorders will then be transferred to the ATSB headquarters at 15 Mort Street, Canberra.

There will be an opportunity for the media to film the arrival of the recorders at both locations, Corporate Air Facilities, Canberra Airport and subsequently at ATSB headquarters, 15 Mort Street, Canberra.

Aircraft Accident - Cirrus SR-22, near M7 Motorway at Cecil Park, NSW on

5 February 2007

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is seeking the public's assistance in locating a missing panel from an aircraft that crashed last week at Cecil Park in Western Sydney.

The Cirrus SR-22 aircraft crashed around 4:30 pm on Monday 5 February, just near the M7 Motorway at Cecil Park, seriously injuring the American pilot and his Australian passenger. Investigators from the ATSB attended the scene and noticed that a panel that should be located on the rear of the aircraft was missing. Yesterday (Sunday 11 February), about 100 NSW SES personnel kindly assisted in conducting an extensive search in the area, however, they did not find the panel.

The panel is of fibreglass construction, is rectangular in shape with rounded corners, measures 35 x 43 cm (14 x 17 inches) and is painted gloss white on one side. Markings on the panel include hand written part numbers on the inside and a printed warning decal on the outside (see attached pictures of a similar panel). The decal reads:

"Warning - Rocket for parachute deployment inside - Stay clear when airplane is occupied"

The panel is an important piece of evidence required for the investigation of this accident.

Anyone who may have seen the aircraft near the M7 Motorway last Monday afternoon or who may have seen a panel matching the description provided is asked to call the ATSB urgently on: 1800 020 616

The mate of the container ship Bunga Teratai Satu allowed it to ground on Sudbury Reef off Cairns on 2 November 2000 because he was distracted by his wife's telephone conversation while in charge of the watch. This was the principal finding of a report into the accident released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today.

The mate had called his wife to the bridge wing while within mobile telephone range of the shore for her to speak to her mother and their children in Karachi. The mate was distracted from his duties while establishing the telephone link and while listening to the conversation between his wife and her mother. As a result he neglected to make a routine alteration of course off Fitzroy Island and allowed the ship to run aground 20 minutes later at full-ahead speed.

Alarms connected to the ship's global positioning system (GPS), to indicate the vessel was arriving at an alter course position and, subsequently, that it was off-course, did sound. The investigation was unable to determine with any certainty why the alarm failed to trigger an appropriate response from the mate, or when it was actually cancelled. The report found that the alarm tone could have been more distinctive and was similar to an alarm connected to the radio system.

The report found the management of the ship and its procedures to be of a good standard, but the lack of motivation and professionalism on the part of one person led to the grounding.

There was no pilot on board Bunga Teratai Satu at the time of the grounding. The ship had disembarked its pilot about an hour and a half before off Cairns. The issue of pilotage in the Great Barrier Reef is subject to a separate review, commissioned by the Minister for Transport and Regional Services, John Anderson, immediately after the grounding. The Strategic Review of Ship Safety and Pollution Prevention Measures report is expected to be released mid-year.

The ATSB's report of the accident also suggests that, given the container ship's speed of over 20 knots and the level of inattentiveness apparent on the bridge of the Bunga Teratai Satu, it is doubtful that any warning that could have been issued by Reefcentre after the vessel crossed into the restricted area would have averted the grounding.

The ATSB has made recommendations to the ship's owner, particularly in relation to bridge procedures and GPS alarms. The ATSB has also recommended a review of the role of the Great Barrier Reef ship reporting system, including an assessment of the feasibility of Reefcentre providing a full advisory service to ships in the inner route of the Great Barrier Reef. These issues have already been incorporated into the review commissioned by the Minister.

Read the ATSB investigation report

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Cessna 337 4-fatality accident on 17 November 2007 will be held today, Wednesday 21 November 2007

Where: Carpark of the Venus Bay Surf Life Saving Club, Victoria
Time: 16:00 ESuT (local time)

Mr Andrew Roberton, Investigator in Charge (IIC) will discuss factual information known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process.

Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616.

No further media briefings will be conducted by the on-site team. After this briefing, all media enquiries must be directed to the media contact listed below.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau today released its report on the Qantas B747-400 runway overrun accident at Bangkok International Airport on 23 September 1999.

The ATSB investigation was undertaken under a delegation from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee of Thailand given on 18 November1999.

ATSB Executive Director Kym Bills said: "The Qantas Bangkok runway overrun was a serious accident that fortunately did not result in fatalities and serious injuries. It was a wake-up call to Qantas who may have been lulled into a false sense of security by their very good safety record. Qantas provided excellent cooperation throughout the investigation and ATSB is pleased that Qantas has actively responded to the deficiencies found during our investigation."

"Like most major accidents, QF1 resulted from a complex mixture of active failures, inadequate defences and organisational factors - these are spelled out in our investigation report without fear or favour but not apportioning 'blame'."

The investigation found that the accident occurred when the B747-400 landed well beyond the normal touchdown zone and then aquaplaned on a runway that was affected by water following very heavy rain. The crew omitted to use either full or idle reverse thrust during the landing. The aircraft was still moving at 88 kts (163 km/h) at the end of the runway and stopped 220 m later in soft turf with its nose on the airport perimeter road. A precautionary evacuation was made using emergency escape slides about 20 minutes later.

Although the flight crew and cabin crew made a number of errors, many of these were linked to deficiencies in Qantas's operational procedures, training and management processes. CASA's regulations covering contaminated runways and emergency procedures were also found to be deficient, as was its surveillance of airline flight operations. Qantas and CASA either have made, or are in the process of making, significant changes in the areas where deficiencies were identified including the development by CASA of a systems-based surveillance audit approach.

"This investigation is one of the most comprehensive and exhaustive ever conducted by the ATSB (or its predecessor the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation). I believe that the ATSB investigation, and the safety enhancements made following the accident, constitute a major contribution to aviation safety in Australia," Mr Bills said.

Colmar Bruton have advised the ATSB that they experienced problems with their survey website, which meant returns were not accepted between Friday 25 May and Wednesday 30 May, although the site appeared to function correctly.

The problem has been rectified and the site is ready to receive your comments at http://surveys.cbr.com.au/atsb(Opens in a new tab/window) "CLOSED"

The ATSB values your views and invites you to have your say about its reports. If you previously participated in the survey, we extend a special invitation to resubmit your response, and thank you for your patience.

The survey will take no more than about 10 minutes, and the deadline for submissions is Sunday 10 June 2007.

Safety in Australian skies will be enhanced through a new aviation threat and error management (TEM) training course for passenger and general aviation operations, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mark Vaile, announced today.

A media conference to launch the training package will be held today, Monday 20 August 2007 at the Human Factors in Transport 2007 Conference

Where: Rendezvous Hotel, 328 Flinders Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000
Time: 13:30 local time

The Executive Director of the ATSB, Mr Kym Bills and the chairman of the Australian region of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), Mr John Whittington will discuss the training package, which will be delivered around Australia from 24 August 2007.

GAPAN Press Release [ 76 kB PDF]

ATSB has received a large number of media calls referring to the article on page 1 of today's Sydney Morning Herald. The article incorrectly reflects the current status of ATSB's investigation and needs to be clarified. The ATSB's Executive Director has written a letter to the editor of the newspaper in the following terms:

Editor

Today's page 1 article "Ansett beats threat to shut it down" includes a number of statements purporting to reflect the current status of ATSB's investigation that are incorrect.

ATSB's safety deficiency investigation was formally commenced on 11January2001 and includes the roles of Ansett, CASA, Boeing and the FAA. Its terms have been posted on ATSB's web site with updates as appropriate.

The investigation is ongoing and other than in respect of the two safety recommendations released on 12 April, it is not correct that ATSB has reached any conclusions with respect to CASA or anyone else. ATSB has received full cooperation in its investigation to date from Ansett, CASA, Boeing and the FAA.

ATSB has not assessed the contents of the CASA internal audit report. ATSB received a copy of the CASA internal audit report after it became public this week.

Yours sincerely

Kym Bills
Executive Director

20 April 2001

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Aero Commander fatal accident on 31 July 2007 will be held today, Wednesday 1 August 2007

Where: On the road between West Wallan and Clonbinane, East of Monument Hill in Victoria. (37deg 21.4S 145deg 05.8E)
Time: 13:30 local time (Eastern Standard Time)

Mr Alex Hood, the investigator in charge (IIC), will discuss factual information known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process.

Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616.

No further media briefings will be conducted by the on-site team. After this briefing, all media enquiries must be directed to the media contact listed below.

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Piper PA-30, Twin Comanche fatal accident on 4 February 2007 will be held today, Monday 5 February 2007

Where: Casuarina Housing Estate, Kingscliff Beach NSW
Time: 15:00 local time (NSW Time)

Mr Rod Fearon, the Operations investigator, will discuss factual information known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process.

Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616.

No further media briefings will be conducted by the on-site team. After this briefing, all media enquiries must be directed to the media contact listed.