A story on ABC’s 7.30 program (7 March 2017) and an article on the ABC news website, “Air safety watchdog clearly failing”, contains inaccurate and misleading claims that require correction. Firstly, the reports quote Mr Neil Hansford as saying: "Until a case is resolved, there can be no remedial action taken by the relevant authorities, CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) or the Department of Transport or even private airport operators." In fact, the ATSB does not wait for an investigation to be completed to bring safety matters to the attention of…

I am pleased to present the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) Corporate Plan, which covers the period 2022-23 to 2025-26. This Corporate Plan has been prepared consistent with paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the relevant provisions of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (the TSI Act), which establishes the ATSB. The Corporate Plan is also consistent with the Minister’s revised Statement of Expectations 2021–23 (SOE) for the ATSB, as notified under Section 12AE of the TSI Act. The SOE sets out clear…

Safety Advisory Notice To Beechcraft Baron operators Beechcraft Baron heater fuel supply line inspection The ATSB is encouraging Baron operators to inspect the heater fuel supply line and nearby wiring in the aircraft cockpit to reduce the risk of an in-flight fire. What happened At approximately 0835 on the morning of 16 April 2022, the pilot of a Beechcraft B58 Baron registered VH-NPT commenced an approach to Runway 12 at the East Kimberley Regional Airport near Kununurra. Upon selection of the landing gear to the down position the pilot…

The ATSB Annual report 2021-22 outlines performance against the outcome and program structure in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts' reporting/budgets/budget-2021-22">Portfolio Budget Statements 2021–22 report_2020-21.jpg?width=670&height=282" alt="" width="670" height="282"> I am pleased to be able to introduce this annual …

Safety Advisory Notice To Rollingstock Operators Number: RO-2020-022-SAN-002 Unknown functions in locomotive braking systems An ongoing investigation, conducted by NSW’s Office of Transport Safety Investigations on behalf of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, highlights risks associated with misunderstood functionality of locomotive braking systems. Locomotive drivers require a clear understanding of the braking systems on all the locomotives they are operating. What happened On 15 December 2020 a loaded grain train derailed whilst descending…

Safety Advisory Notice Loss of drive to the main rotor system What happened On 14 February 2022, the pilot of a Garlick Helicopters UH-1H was providing aerial firefighting support to combat the ‘Labrina’ bushfire that had developed north of Launceston, Tasmania. That afternoon, the pilot was tasked to firebomb a localised hot-spot that had developed within the fireground. Witnesses both on the ground, and within a nearby helicopter, observed the early release of the water load from the underslung bucket, before the UH-1H commenced a left turn and descended toward nearby open…

reports/australian-transport-safety-bureau/reporting-year/2019-20">View on Australian Government Transparency Portal The ATSB Annual report 2019–20 outlines performance against the outcome and program structure in the Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities reporting/budgets/budget-2020-21/budget-statements-2020-2021" title="2020–21 Portfolio Budget…

Safety summary Update This statistical report shows aviation occurrence and activity data over the 10-year period from 2010–2019 to provide an insight into current and possible future trends in aviation safety. The previous edition (AR‑2020‑014) published in April 2020 presented 10 years of occurrence data, but aviation activity data was only available for 2014–2018 as 2019 activity data was not available at the time of publishing. This report is an update of the previous edition with the addition 2019 aviation…

Safety Advisory Notice To R44 helicopter operators Fatigue cracking in an R44 helicopter clutch shaft resulted in the total loss of drive to the main rotor system while airborne. What happened On the morning of 22 December 2020, the pilot of a Robinson R44 helicopter was conducting aerial agricultural spray operations on a property 13 km south‑east of Clare Valley Aerodrome, South Australia. After completing numerous spray runs throughout the morning, the pilot was preparing to land the helicopter adjacent to a loading vehicle for replenishment of…

I am pleased to present the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s (ATSB) Corporate Plan, which covers the period 2021-22 to 2024-25. This Corporate Plan has been prepared consistent with paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the relevant provisions of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (the TSI Act), which establishes the ATSB. The Corporate Plan is also consistent with the Minister’s revised Statement of Expectations 2021–23 (SOE) for the ATSB, as notified under Section 12AE of the TSI Act. The SOE sets out clear…