What is REPCON? REPCON is a voluntary and confidential reporting scheme. REPCON allows any person who has a rail safety concern to report it to the ATSB confidentially. Protection of the reporter’s identity and any individual referred to in the report is a primary element of the scheme. Who may make a REPCON report? Any person may report a reportable safety concern. This would include: (a)  Any person involved in the Rail Industry. An example would be an employee or contractor of a rail transport operator who may have reported a matter under the operator’s SMS but does not believe…

Safety concern Navigation through confined waters under pilotage is a high-pressure situation where errors can easily lead to serious incidents.  What can you do? The clear and open exchange of information between the ship’s master and crew and the pilot is vital, both during the pilotage passage and before it even commences. This helps to ensure that all members of the bridge team have a shared mental model of the pilotage passage and, as a result, a good understanding of how it should proceed.  This pre-passage information exchange should always include:  the courses or…

Safety concern R44 helicopters with all-aluminium fuel tanks have proven susceptible to post-accident fuel leaks increasing the risk of a potentially fatal post-impact fire following a collision with terrain.  What can you do? The manufacturer has issued a Service Bulletin SB-78B requiring R44 helicopters with all-aluminium fuel tanks be retrofitted with bladder-type tanks as soon as practical, but no later than 30 April 2013. The ATSB urges all operators and owners of R44 helicopters fitted with all-aluminium fuel tanks to replace these tanks with bladder-type fuel tanks as detailed in…

Safety concern ATSB research reveals that accidents and incidents are not always reported to the ATSB when they should be. When something goes wrong in transport safety, it is the duty of a ‘responsible person’ (defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003) to report it to the ATSB.    ATSB on YouTube   What can you do? As the national transport safety investigator, the ATSB is the Australian Government agency you should notify in the event of an accident or incident. While we use your notification to determine whether to investigate an occurrence, looked at…

Safety concern The ATSB has investigated several accidents that have occurred when maintenance work was being carried out on or near railway tracks. Conducting work on or near a railway track can be dangerous if safeworking rules and procedures have not been correctly implemented to protect the worksite. Trains cannot stop quickly and any breakdown in the communication or management of a worksite can leave workers extremely vulnerable to dangerous situations. What can you do? Operational safe working on track requires a high level of preparation and organisation. Whenever there is work…

Safety concern It is difficult for pilots to spot another aircraft through visual observation alone.  The ATSB often receives reports from pilots that another aircraft is flying too close to them in uncontrolled airspace. Not surprisingly, three quarters of these reports involve pilots flying within 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometres) of a non-controlled aerodrome. Twice as many near-collisions are reported to the ATSB where pilots had no prior warning of other aircraft in their vicinity, compared with situations when a pilot received an alert by radio or a traffic alerting system like…

ATSB supplements  January-February R22 drive belt concerns Pilot unknowingly affected by hypoxia Starved and exhausted Investigation briefs Non towered aerodromes an on-going concern REPCON briefs Download ATSB supplement (January-February 2012) [PDF: 1.3MB]   March-April Rare software glitch causes sudden pitch down Buckle up Potentially catastrophic data error Poor fuel management remains a safety risk - Is there enough left in the tank? Your notification improves safety, saves lives Investigation briefs REPCON briefs Download ATSB supplement (March-April 2012) [PDF: 1MB]…

Safety concern The ATSB has investigated several incidents involving unsafe working practices in the maritime industry. These incidents resulted in serious injury or death following falls from height, crushing and equipment that exploded.   The most common problem associated with these incidents was the fact that the people involved in the task did not properly identify the risks involved before they started the task. Sometimes risk strategies were not implemented, and in some cases, individuals ignored established procedures. To some degree, these incidents involved the people being…

This stage of the consultation is now CLOSED. The new confidential reporting regulations are in the process of being made, with persons or organisations that made submissions informed. Please refer back to the main consultation page for information about the proposed response to the consultation on mandatory reporting. The ATSB is inviting comments on proposed regulatory changes covering mandatory reporting of accidents and incidents and confidential reporting of safety concerns in Australia. Your comments are sought by Friday, 27 July 2012. Mandatory Reporting There are…

New confidential reporting regulations and the International Casualty Investigation Code The ATSB is inviting comments on two proposed regulatory changes relating to: Confidential reporting of maritime safety concerns ATSB use of the International Maritime Organization's Casualty Investigation Code  Your comments are sought by Friday, 27 July 2012. Confidential Reporting (REPCON) New regulations will replace the existing maritime REPCON regulations creating a multi-modal confidential reporting scheme…