An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation Report, released today, has found that work procedures in the Regency Park rail yard allowed a shunter to ride on the end-steps of a wagon while being shunted and did not require that the driver confirm that the shunter was safe and/or in a safe position before starting a shunt movement. The dangers involved in railway shunting accidents were tragically illustrated when a railway employee was severely injured and disabled after a string of wagons ran over him…

The ATSB has found that deficient boat design and construction, inadequate equipment and training, fatigue and poor decision-making, weather conditions and regulatory confusion, all combined in the tragic loss of five Torres Strait Islanders travelling on board the 6 metre boat Malu Sara in Torres Strait on 15 October 2005. According to the final investigation report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), the boat did not meet basic freeboard or stability requirements. When operating at slow speed or stopped, water flooded the boat's cockpit…

An ATSB investigation has found that nobody was assigned to guide the leading end of a shunting movement of a Pacific National freight train which collided with the side of the Sydney to Melbourne XPT on the evening of 19 January 2005 at South Dynon. The ATSB investigation found that factors including the lack of procedures, poor communications, erroneous assumptions and a depleted team of terminal operators all contributed to the collision. The investigation also found that the catchpoints were ineffective in deflecting the wagons away from the main line. The final investigation…

Failing to keep a proper lookout was the major cause of yet another collision between a trading ship and a commercial fishing vessel, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation Report released today. The ATSB Report into the incident states that, at 0535 (local time) on 15 April 2005, the Greek registered bulk carrier Spartia and the Western Australian cray fishing vessel Hannah Lee collided 17 nautical miles west…

A 20-year-old engineer cadet died from severe head injuries after falling seven metres while working in a ship's engine room, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that, at about 0920 (local time) on 16 May 2005, the engineer cadet on board the South Korean bulk carrier Golden Bell was working with other engine room staff when he fell through an open section of deck grating. The cadet landed seven metres below, on the…

The electrician on board the Marshall Islands registered Probo Panda died from a heart attack following a suspected electric shock while the ship was at anchor off Gladstone in Queensland on 11 May 2005, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The electrician died while working on one of the ship's engine room light fittings. He had been missing for several hours and was only found after a search of the vessel was instigated by the master. The ATSB report into the…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the circumstances surrounding the Piper Navajo Chieftain four-fatality accident near Condobolin on 2 December 2005. Four ATSB investigators have been on site near Condobolin since Saturday morning. The Piper Navajo Chieftain was reportedly being flown by a commercial pilot and was en route from Archerfield to Swan Hill via Griffith. Weather in the Condobolin area was severe with extremely strong wind and thunderstorms across the aircraft's track. The pilot…

Anchoring too close to each other and without due regard to the changeable weather conditions in the anchorage off Newcastle were the major causes of the collision between two bulk carriers, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that at 0939 on 24 June 2005, the bulk carrier Pilsum collided with another bulk carrier, China Steel Growth, while dragging its anchor. The two ships were anchored off the New South Wales port of…

The ATSB Interim Factual Investigation report into the Metroliner fatal aircraft accident on 7 May 2005 near Lockhart River has found that if the ground proximity warning system functioned as designed, the crew should have received a number of warnings from the system as the aircraft descended below the minimum obstacle clearance altitude of 2,060 ft. However, because no data on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was useable, the functionality of the warnings could not be confirmed. Flight data recorder information from…

The ATSB's final investigation Report has found that an Airbus A330 passenger aircraft that landed at Sydney in fog on 6 April last year did so because the adverse weather conditions were unforecast and the flight crew continued to manoeuvre the aircraft for a landing at Sydney past the time they had previously nominated as the latest time for a diversion to Canberra. Since the occurrence safety action has been taken by the air traffic services provider and the Bureau of Meteorology to improve the…