A crew member on board the P&O cruise ship, Pacific Sun fell to his death because his safety harness was not properly secured, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released today. On 5 February 2006, Pacific Sun berthed at number eight wharf Darling Harbour, Sydney. The quartermaster on the twelve to four watch was assigned to clean rust streaks from the outside of the port bridge wing. At 1205, before the quartermaster started work, the officer on watch checked his safety harness and completed a work permit. The quartermaster then climbed out onto an open catwalk and…

An ATSB investigation has found that the driver of a motor vehicle who was fatally injured on 11 August 2005 at the Edith Street level crossing in Horsham, Victoria, did not give way to the train as prescribed in 'Road Rules�- Victoria'. The motorist drove into the path of the train even though the level crossing flashing lights and bell were operating correctly. The ATSB's report concludes that it is likely that the driver of the car was distracted by internal and/or external factors. Internal factors may have included an expectation that a train would not be present, familiarity with the…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Pitts S-2A Special single fatality accident on 18 March 2008 will be held today, Wednesday 19 March 2008. Where: Side Lane - 50 metres north of accident site on the western side of The Northern Road Time: 11:00 am ESuT (local time) Mr Marcus Matthews, Investigator in Charge (IIC) will discuss factual information known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process. Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the mid-air fatality on 26 February 2008 will be held today, Wednesday, 27 February 2008 Where: At the accident site north - east of Wee Waa, NSW The briefing will be conducted adjacent to 'Glen Arvan' on Trindles Lane - from Wee Waa take the highway towards Narrabri and turn left approximately10 km from Wee Waa and then 3 km north to the briefing site (near position .30 degrees 10.63 minutes S, 149 degrees 30.72 minutes E). Time: 1300 ESuT (local time) Mr Alex Hood, Investigator in Charge (IIC…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Fairchild Metroliner single fatality accident on 9 April 2008 will be held today, Friday 11 April 2008 Where: Outside the NSW Water Police Compound, Jubilee Place, BALMAIN, NSW Time: 2:00 pm EST (local time) Mr Allan Coppin, Investigator in Charge (IIC) will discuss factual information known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process. Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616. No further…

An ATSB discussion paper has found that from 1990 to 2005 Queensland had a higher fatal aviation accident rate than the rest of Australia but that the results for Tasmania were much worse, and that the fatal accident rate for Far North Queensland was better than for Queensland's North and Central regions. Like NSW/ACT, QLD was the location for 102 of the 318 fatal accidents in Australia from 1990 to 2005. Compared with the national rate of 0.7 fatal accidents per 100,000 landings 1990-2004, TAS had 1.8 and QLD the next highest at 0.9. QLD had 32% of the accidents and 24% of the landings so…

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation found that the collision between the Australian registered tug Tom Tough and the Panamanian registered bulk carrier Global Peace resulted in a spill of approximately 25 cubic metres of oil in Gladstone Harbour on 24 January 2006. At about 2130 on the evening of 24 January, Global Peace entered Gladstone harbour for the transit to the Clinton Coal Terminal. The plan was for the ship to berth at Clinton number three berth with the assistance of three z-peller tugs. As the ship was approaching the berth, the pilot asked all three tugs to…

The ATSB has released a further Interim Factual Investigation Report into the Lockhart River accident on 7 May 2005 in which both pilots and all 13 passengers perished and says that it expects to complete its draft final report by the end of November. This is the third factual report issued by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau since the tragic accident and, in accordance with international convention, it contains no analysis. The ATSB has previously issued a number of safety recommendations arising from the accident and others will be considered ahead of the final report if or as needed…

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has found that a lack of hazard awareness and safety control measures led to the chief engineer on board the Australian bulk carrier River Embley sustaining burns to 45 percent of his body when he was scalded by hot water that unexpectedly sprayed from a steam valve he and a junior engineer were working on. On the morning of 14 October 2005, the engineers were working in the engine room while the ship was at anchor off Gladstone. While they were dismantling the turbo alternator exhaust steam valve a thousand litres of pressurised hot…

The ATSB's on-site investigation into the 5 October 2006 fatal accident involving a BAC-167 Strikemaster jet, NE of Bathurst, NSW, is continuing. Access to the accident site has been hampered by the presence of a large bushfire, which is currently being fought by the NSW Rural Fire Service. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's on-site investigation team has reported that the aircraft wreckage trail extends more than 1 kilometre. Team members have been able to access some of the aircraft wreckage during a period of limited access to the accident site over the last 2 days. During that time…