Following the introduction of a weather drone option to the wind management plan in June of 2023, the operator had not updated its operational procedures to include this option. As a result, flight crew were not prompted to use this method for gathering information on wind conditions in the show area prior to launch.
The procedure introduced by The Australian Traffic Network Pty Limited provides the relevant details about the aircraft and GCS software for the flight crew to accurately test the wind speed limit at the show height prior to launch.
The Australian Traffic Network Pty Limited advised the ATSB that since this accident it has introduced additional operational procedures to more effectively estimate the wind conditions at show altitude and included a specific procedure for the performance of a wind speed check at altitude prior to the show taking place. On that basis, the safety issue has been closed as adequately addressed.
