The Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, Mr Martin Dolan has welcomed the re-appointment of Mr Noel Hart as a Commissioner with the ATSB.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss announced the two-year extension of Mr Hart's term today, effective from 1 July 2015. Mr Hart was first appointed as a Commissioner in July 2009.
Mr Dolan said, ‘Mr Hart brings to the Commission a lifetime of experience in maritime industry experience as a qualified and experienced Master Mariner with an MBA.
‘I look forward to continuing the Commission’s important work with Noel whose maritime knowledge complements the aviation and rail experience of the other Commissioners.
Read Deputy Prime Minister Truss’ statement.
More information on ATSB's commissioners can be found here.
Recent news reports about the search for MH370 have included highly inaccurate assertions about the search and how it is being conducted.
Recent news reports about the search for MH370 have included highly inaccurate assertions about the search and how it is being conducted.
The ATSB strongly refutes assertions that Fugro Survey Pty Ltd was not the best choice to undertake the underwater search or that the search methods are ineffective. The search is being carried out to the highest standards of effectiveness and quality.
“These attacks are unfounded and unfair”, said Chief Commissioner Martin Dolan. “The search for MH370 represents thousands of hours of work by hundreds of people who are dedicated, expert and professional. They are fully committed to finding the aircraft.
“The opportunity to tender services for the search for MH370 was open to the international underwater search industry. We received a number of tenders which encompassed a range of different capabilities and methods. A comprehensive and exhaustive evaluation process was conducted in line with strict Australian Government procurement and probity rules.
“I am very conscious that we must use taxpayers’ money responsibly. Fugro’s bid represented the best value for money and demonstrated that they could capably manage the technical aspects of this challenging search operation and deliver the necessary results.”
Fugro has been involved with numerous aircraft and helicopter search and recovery operations since the 1980s. They have been using the Edgetech Deeptow side-scan sonar systems since the mid-90s and have one of the largest commercial AUV fleets in the world for performing commercial surveys in deep water.
Their ability to detect man-made objects on the seafloor in ultra-deep water is evidenced by the recent detection of a previously unknown shipwreck.
“The debris in the shipwreck field was significantly smaller, and therefore harder to detect, than we expect to find with MH370,” Chief Commissioner Dolan said.
“The ATSB has put in place systems of review and expert quality assurance so we can be certain that the quality of search data meets the high standards we have specified,” said Chief Commissioner Dolan. “We selected Fugro on their capacity to meet those standards.”
As part of its quality assurance process, the ATSB has enlisted the expertise of Sherrell Ocean Services founded by Andrew Sherrell, one of the leading sonar search specialists in the world, who has worked on a number of commercial air investigations, including the search and recovery of Air France 447, TWA 800, and Egypt Air 990.
Mr Sherrell has been involved as the Quality Assurance Manager in many elements of the search for MH370, beginning with the tender process and continuing with the planning of the search and review of the gathered sonar data. Mr Sherrell said he is confident that the appropriate technology is being used.
“The equipment was tested thoroughly in ocean trials at a purpose-built test range to ensure the maximum swath width without compromising the detection capability. Fugro’s faster-than-average tow speed enables them to scan significant amounts of sea floor per operational day. As a result, we are seeing substantial coverage with the required level of resolution,” said Mr Sherrell.
“We have a rigorous and thorough quality assurance program that ensures appropriate overlap between adjacent swaths and positioning of each line as well. We are achieving very accurate and consistent results with a new state-of-the-art positioning system that gives us full confidence in the towfish position, even 9km behind the vessel.
“Furthermore, we verify this system by using the accurate bathymetry maps collected during Phase 1 of this search. By matching specific features on the seafloor, we can ensure that the positions being calculated are correct, and we do this for every single line of data collected. We also perform feature matching with the side scan sonar data between adjacent lines to ensure sufficient overlap of data is maintained. This is also done on every line as it is collected, with any deficiencies documented and catalogued.
“In addition, Fugro are using multibeam sonar to supplement the side scan sonar equipment; this covers the traditional “nadir” gap directly below the towfish. The multibeam ensures more complete coverage of the seafloor it passes over. This is optimising our rate of progress, and is a feature that is not available on some older systems that are still in use by other organisations.”
Without this type of system, a much higher percentage of seafloor would need to be covered twice to fill in this missing data. Duplicating coverage of the seafloor not only increases the cost of the search, but also the time required to cover the search area. Using a multibeam sonar in this way is a very efficient technique for covering large areas of seafloor.
“The challenges remain,” Chief Commissioner Dolan said. “The search zone is remote, the weather and sea conditions are difficult, and the search area is vast, but I’ve never had any doubt about the capabilities of Fugro, their commitment to the mission or their professionalism.”
The ATSB has released its latest Bulletin of short investigations covering incidents involving regular passenger transport aircraft, light aircraft and helicopters.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released its latest Bulletin of short investigations covering incidents involving regular passenger transport aircraft, light aircraft and helicopters.
Issue 41 of the Bulletin covers 13 safety investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers. The Bulletin also highlights important safety messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB investigations and research.
Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken or identified.
Issue 41 of the Bulletin features 13 safety investigations:
Accident highlights the impact a combination of distractions can have on aircraft operations.
On 12 December 2014, the pilot of a Cessna 310 (C-310) aircraft, registered VH-TBE (TBE), was completing a charter flight from Oenpelli to Jabiru, Northern Territory. On board were the pilot, two adults and three children.
TBE was one of several aircraft operating multiple flights between the two communities, and this was the fourth and final flight for the pilot that day. Due to the late arrival of a passenger on one of his earlier runs, the pilot had been delayed throughout the morning.
After departing Oenpelli, he made a left turn, and continued climbing to 2,000 ft for the short flight. An agreed local procedure between operators in this area was that flights from Oenpelli to Jabiru operated at 2,000 ft, and flights in the opposite direction at 1,500 ft.
After a distraction source has been recognised, the next priority is to re-establish situation awareness by conducting the following: Identify: What was I doing? Ask: Where was I distracted? Decide/act: What decision or action do I need to take to get back on track?
The pilot reported that the three children on board were excited and a little disruptive, and he had kept a close watch on their activities. Concurrently, the passenger seated in the front seat coughed incessantly through the headset, which distracted him. Once he had the aircraft stable, he reached over and unplugged the passenger’s headset.
After the completion of the top of descent (TOPD) checks, he manoeuvred to join a late downwind for a right circuit onto runway 27 at Jabiru. He commenced the pre-landing checks and reported verbalising “undercarriage down”, but made a decision to leave this particular action until later on final approach. He elected to keep the aircraft speed slightly higher than normal; and as per the company procedures, kept a stable power setting and profile and only made small adjustments when needed at around 300 ft. He was also mindful of a Cessna 210 aircraft close behind TBE.
He then focussed on the passengers, especially the children, and made sure that they all had their seatbelts correctly fastened prior to landing. The children were still highly excited. He normally completed the remaining memory-recall PUFF check on final approach, but on this occasion he did not.
The pilot flared the aircraft in preparation for landing. He became aware that the undercarriage remained retracted when TBE touched down on the runway centreline and he heard the propellers contacting the ground.
Mindful there was an aircraft in the circuit behind him, he used the remaining rudder effectiveness to move the aircraft slightly to the left of the runway. When the aircraft came to a stop, he checked on the welfare of his passengers and opened the door for them to exit, directing them to assemble in a safe area. After completing shutting down, he also exited the aircraft. There were no injuries to either the pilot or passengers; however, the aircraft was substantially damaged.
Safety message
This incident highlights the impact a combination of distractions can have on aircraft operations.
Research conducted by the ATSB found that distractions were a normal part of everyday flying, and generally pilots respond to them fairly and efficiently. It also revealed that 13 per cent of accidents and incidents associated with pilot distraction between January 1997 and September 2004 occurred during the approach phase of flight.
The Flight Safety Foundation suggests that after a distraction source has been recognised, the next priority is to re-establish situation awareness by conducting the following:
Identify: What was I doing?
Ask: Where was I distracted?
Decide/act: What decision or action do I need to take to get back on track?
The debris field appeared to be of man-made origin but once again it did not exhibit all the characteristics of a typical aircraft debris field.
Fugro Equator’s deep tow system detected a cluster of small sonar contacts in the southern part of the search area, 12 nautical miles to the east of the 7th arc. The sonar data was carefully analysed and categorised as Class 2 – “of potential interest but unlikely to be related to MH370.” It could not, however, be ruled out.
“We were cautious about this,” said the ATSB’s Peter Foley, Director of the Operational Search for MH370. “There were characteristics of the contact that made it unlikely to be MH370, but there were also aspects that generated interest, multiple small bright reflections in a relatively small area of otherwise featureless seabed. All the sonar data we gather goes through a detailed analysis and an exhaustive review process to ascertain its quality, coverage and most importantly any sonar contacts of interest. The analysis starts with the mission crew on board the search vessels, data is then reviewed again ashore by sonar analysts at Fugro’s office in Perth and then it is independently reviewed by the sonar experts in the ATSB’s Operational Search team. The process is methodical, meticulous and it is designed to ensure that nothing is missed. In this case we planned to resurvey the contact in more detail when the opportunity arose.”
Therefore Fugro Supporter was tasked to divert on its passage between two search areas and further investigate the contact. A high-resolution sonar scan was performed using the AUV. The high-resolution data revealed a large number of sonar contacts lying very close to the seafloor, at a depth of around 3900 metres. The majority of the contacts were comparatively small – around the size of a cricket ball – interspersed with a few larger items, the biggest being box shaped and approximately 6 metres in its longest dimension. The debris field appeared to be of man-made origin but once again it did not exhibit all the characteristics of a typical aircraft debris field.
An additional AUV low-altitude mission was then undertaken using the underwater camera to gather images of the field. Poor weather conditions, however, prevented the safe launching of the AUV for several days.
Analysis of the images this week revealed that the debris was indeed man-made, but indicated that it was actually the wreck of a ship. This wreck is previously uncharted and the imagery will be provided to expert marine archaeologists for possible identification.
“It’s a fascinating find,” said Foley, “but it’s not what we’re looking for. We’re not pausing in the search for MH370, in fact the vessels have already moved on to continue the mission. Obviously, we’re disappointed that it wasn’t the aircraft, but we were always realistic about the likelihood. And this event has really demonstrated that the systems, people and the equipment involved in the search are working well. It’s shown that if there’s a debris field in the search area, we’ll find it.”
Ship-related debris on the sea floor, including an anchor
Source: ATSB, photo by Fugro.
An additional AUV low-altitude mission was then undertaken using the underwater camera to gather images of the field. Poor weather conditions, however, prevented the safe launching of the AUV for several days.
Analysis of the images this week revealed that the debris was indeed man-made, but indicated that it was actually the wreck of a ship. This wreck is previously uncharted and the imagery will be provided to expert marine archaeologists for possible identification.
Ship-related debris on the sea floor
Source: ATSB, photo by Fugro
Ship-related debris on the sea floor. White sea stars can be seen on some of the debris while the black objects are believed to be lumps of coal
The ATSB is a proud partner of Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) 2015. This year, PAW is being held from 3–9 May
The theme for 2015 is Privacy everyday.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is a proud partner of Privacy Awareness Week (PAW) 2015. PAW is an initiative of the Asia-Pacific Privacy Authorities, held every year to promote awareness of privacy issues and the importance of the protection of personal information. This year, PAW is being held from 3–9 May.
The theme for 2015 is Privacy everyday. Privacy should be an essential component of everyday life, including in transactions such as internet banking, social media and online shopping. We recognise that our customers value their privacy, and we make your privacy important to us everyday.
You can find out more about how we protect you privacy by reading our privacy policy, which is available on our website at www.atsb.gov.au. Our policy addresses the following issues:
the types of personal information collected and held by the ATSB (including sensitive information);
how and why we collect personal information;
how the ATSB stores personal information;
use and disclosure of personal information (including overseas disclosure);
how you can access and correct your personal information; and
A new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Australia’s transport safety investigator and civil aviation safety regulator places a renewed emphasis on cooperation to improve aviation safety.
A new memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Australia’s transport safety investigator and civil aviation safety regulator places a renewed emphasis on cooperation to improve aviation safety.
Mr Martin Dolan, the Chief Commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), and Mr Mark Skidmore, the Director of Aviation Safety, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), signed the new MoU on 30 March 2015.
Mr Dolan said, ‘the MOU spells out how the two agencies will cooperate in the interests of improving aviation safety. We are working together—with the ATSB identifying safety issues through its investigations and findings, and CASA and the industry responding to those issues, as appropriate—to promote high standards of aviation safety.’
The MoU contains protocols for interactions between the two agencies. It covers notifications of accidents and incidents and procedures around access to evidence, exchange of information and initiating safety action.
Significantly, both agencies have reiterated a commitment to tell the other agency about matters they reasonably believe the other agency needs to know for safety purposes.
Mr Skidmore said, ‘It is important for the agencies to share safety information while recognising that there are limits to what the accident investigator can provide to the regulator. CASA will only ask for information if it is clearly in the interests of safety. The ATSB makes the decision on what information is provided to CASA. If CASA has information it believes relevant to an ATSB investigation, it will let the ATSB know.’
The MoU is for three years with an annual review of its content.
The ATSB has released its latest Bulletin of short investigations covering incidents from November last year through to February this year.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released its latest Bulletin of short investigations covering incidents from November last year through to February this year.
Issue 40 of the Bulletin covers 10 safety investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers.
Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken or identified.
Issue 40 of the Bulletin features 10 safety investigations.
The Bulletin also highlights important safety messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB investigations and research.
Issue 40 of the Bulletin features 10 safety investigations:
Issue 39: The ATSB has just released a new aviation bulletin containing 10 investigation reports.
The Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin covers a range of the ATSB’s short investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers.
Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken. The Bulletin also highlights important Safety Messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB investigations and research.
Issue 39 of the Bulletin features 10 safety investigations:
Mr Chris Manning has been appointed to the ATSB Commission with effect 9 March 2015 for a period of three years.
Mr Chris Manning has been appointed to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Commission with effect 9 March 2015 for a period of three years. He will be the fourth member of the ATSB Commission.
Mr Manning has extensive aviation operational and safety management experience particularly in his former positions as Qantas chief pilot and group general manager of flight operations.
Mr Martin Dolan, the Chief Commissioner has warmly welcomed the appointment saying, ‘I, and the other Commissioners, look forward to working closely with Mr Manning.
‘His experience, particularly in the aviation business, will add considerably to the overall body of knowledge held by the Commission’, said Mr Dolan.
The Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Hon Warren Truss MP made the official announcement via media release on 24 February 2015.
