Safety issue
| Safety issue description |
Coulson Aviation and the relevant Western Australian Government Departments had not published a minimum retardant drop height in their respective operating procedures for large airtankers. Consequently, the co-pilot (pilot monitoring), who did not believe there was a minimum drop height, did not alert the aircraft captain (pilot flying) to a drop height deviation prior to the collision. |
|---|---|
| Issue number | AO-2023-008-SI-02 |
| Issue owner | Coulson Aviation |
| Transport function | Aviation: General aviation |
| Issue status | Closed – Adequately addressed |
| Date issue released | 06/11/2024 |
| Issue status justification |
The amendment to the Coulson Aviation Flight Operations Manual to prescribe a minimum target drop height should adequately address this safety issue. |
Safety action
| Action type | Proactive action |
|---|---|
| Action number | AO-2023-008-PSA-266 |
| Organisation | Coulson Aviation |
| Action description |
Coulson Aviation issued Operations Bulletin 23-1 with their revised minimum drop height of 200 ft on 8 February 2023. On 19 July 2023, they issued a Flight Operations Manual Policy with a 200 ft minimum drop height. This was incorporated into their fixed-wing Flight Operations Manual on 10 October 2023 with an amendment to include an Airtanker Procedures section with a subsection for Minimum Drop Height. |
| Action status | Closed |