The ATSB's final investigation report into the Piper Aztec accident which killed a family of five near Mareeba, Queensland on 1 October 2003, has found that the pilot was probably incapacitated as a result of a cardiac event. The pilot, his wife and three children were conducting a private flight from Mareeba, to Roma, Queensland, in the Piper Aztec aircraft, registered VH-WAC. Witnesses reported that shortly after the aircraft took off from runway 28, it started to bank to the left. The left bank gradually steepened…

An ATSB report has found that a recent airspace incident was both an 'airprox' and a 'serious incident' and that a Brasilia and a Partenavia aircraft passed about 40 m horizontally at the same altitude from each other. The flight crew of the instrument flight rules (IFR) Brasilia was on descent through 9,500 ft from Darwin to Kununurra Airport on airway J72 in visual meteorological conditions (VMC). The flight was a scheduled Regular Public Transport (RPT) service. The pilot of a visual flight rules (VFR) Partenavia was tracking in the opposite direction…

A media conference discussing the factual information contained in the preliminary Report into the circumstances surrounding the fatal aircraft accident near Lockhart River on 7 May 2005 will be held today, Friday 3 June 2005. Where: 15 Mort Street, Canberra City ACT (ATSB headquarters) Time: 15:00 local time Mr Alan Stray, Deputy Director, Aviation Safety Investigation, will discuss only factual material known to the investigation team at this time. Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged…

A media conference discussing the factual information contained in the interim Report into the circumstances surrounding the fatal aircraft accident near Lockhart River on 7 May 2005 will be held on, Friday 16 December 2005. Where: 15 Mort Street, Canberra City ACT (ATSB headquarters) Time: 10:00 local time Mr Alan Stray, Deputy Director, Aviation Safety Investigation, will discuss only factual material known to the investigation team at this time. The investigation is continuing.

The ATSB has released a Preliminary Investigation report into an 11 October 2004 Boeing 737 incident at Perth when the aircraft's tailskid struck the ground during the takeoff from runway 03. The tailskid strike resulted in minor damage to the tailskid shoe at the rear lower fuselage. The crew and passengers were not injured. The ATSB has classified this occurrence as a category 3 serious incident. The investigation is continuing and is analysing recorded weather information and data from the aircraft's flight data…

The ATSB has released a second interim factual Report on the Piper Cheyenne accident on 28 July 2004 in which the pilot and five passengers died. The ATSB has established that the aircraft diverged between 3.4 and 4 degrees left of the intended track between a point abeam Ulladulla and where it disappeared from radar. The ATSB is conducting further tests of the modes and functionality of the GPS receiver type that was used on the aircraft, to determine if the flight path can be replicated with a copy of the data used…

A media conference discussing the factual information contained in the report and the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Piper Chieftain fatal accident on 2 December 2005 will be held on, Tuesday 31 January 2006. Where: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour SYDNEY (Rotor Tech 2006 - Hall 3 ATSB Booth No.2) Time: 15:00 (local time) Mr Alan Stray, Deputy Director, Aviation Safety Investigation will discuss the factual material contained in the report and progress of…

An ICAO audit of the ATSB has reported high satisfaction with Australia's legislative, organisational and training framework for aircraft safety investigation and the professional and efficient conduct of the ATSB investigations reviewed in detail. The audit by the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was sought by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to ensure that the ATSB met international best practice for aviation accident and incident safety investigation. The ICAO audit team '…

The ATSB has found that the third officer of the Panamanian tanker Port Arthur suffered a fracture of his cervical spine during a lifeboat drill on 20 October 2003. Three other crew in the lifeboat escaped serious injury when the boat fell 10 metres into Port Botany after its suspension hooks opened prematurely while it was being launched. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its investigation report into the accident which concludes that the lifeboat's on-load release hooks had not been correctly reset when the boat was last lowered…

On 21 March 2003 the port main engine of the Australian cargo ship Searoad Mersey failed catastrophically leaving the vessel disabled in Bass Strait. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its investigation Report into the incident. At 1612 on 21 March 2003, the roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel Searoad Mersey departed from Melbourne on a scheduled service to Devonport in Tasmania. By 1924 the ship had cleared Point Lonsdale and was heading in a south-easterly direction in Bass Strait. At about 2118,…