The ATSB's final report into the tragic helicopter accident near Mackay that killed all three crewmembers found that spatial disorientation of the pilot was likely and includes a number of safety recommendations to prevent a recurrence. The Bell 407 helicopter, operating under the night Visual Flight Rules (VFR), was en-route from Mackay to Hamilton Island, to pick up a patient, when it crashed into the sea. The report found that the circumstances of the accident combined most of the risk factors known to be associated with helicopter Emergency Medical Services (EMS) accidents. These included…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today deals with the collision between a ship, Asian Nova, and a fishing vessel, Sassenach, off Townsville on 29 May 2003 in which a local fisherman lost his life. The fishing vessel's skipper lost his life as a result of the collision, his body was recovered from the sunken trawler on 5 June 2003. The boat's other crew member, the deckhand, was able to jump clear at impact and was rescued some five hours later by a searching fishing boat. Poor watch handover practices and a poor lookout were identified as major…

The ATSBs final report into the fatal aircraft accident at Jandakot on 11 August 2003 has determined that the aircrafts right engine lost power soon after take-off when its engine driven fuel pump seized. The Cessna 404 was being operated by one pilot and had five passengers who were to operate specialised equipment on the aircraft during maritime operations approximately 40 NM west of Jandakot. One passenger did not vacate the aircraft and was fatally injured. The pilot and the other four passengers sustained serious injuries as they vacated the aircraft. One of those passengers died from…

Over reliance on the accuracy of Global Positioning System (GPS) derived positions by a watchkeeper contributed to the grounding of the 35 m adventure cruise vessel True North at about 2300 on 7 August 2004, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the grounding of True North in the approach passage to St. George Basin, in Western Australia's Kimberley region, states that the vessel grounded on or near Strong Tide Point after a voyage from Prince Frederick Harbour. On board at the time of the grounding were 26…

The ATSB's preliminary examination of recorders from the fatal Metroliner accident has found good data on the aircraft flight data recorder but not on the cockpit voice recorder. The two recorders were located in the aircraft wreckage on the afternoon following the accident and carried to the ATSB Canberra laboratories, arriving at 7 pm on Monday. Both recorders were heat affected from the post-accident fire. Useful data of reasonably good quality has been retrieved from the flight data recorder (FDR) and detailed verification and analysis of that information has commenced. The FDR contained…

The ATSB has found that severe corrosion over a long period led to two deaths when a lifeboat fell 16 metres during a safety drill. The two crew died and three were seriously injured in a lifeboat accident on board the Hong Kong registered Lowlands Grace while the ship was anchored off Port Hedland, Western Australia, on 7 October 2004. The five casualties were members of the crew who had boarded one of the ship's lifeboats during a planned lifeboat drill. While it was being lowered, the lifeboat's after on-load release hook failed and released the stern of the 3.5 tonne boat from its davit…

The placement of three empty rollingstock platforms immediately behind the locomotive was one of a number of key factors that combined to cause a freight train to derail at Glenalta, South Australia on 21 November 2004, according to an ATSB investigation report released today. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report states that the accident occurred after a single freight wagon bogie derailed over a set of points at Belair. A wheel contacted and lifted on top of a check-rail. The check-rail is designed to guide a wheel in the correct direction through the points. However, in this case…

The ATSB has reported substantial safety action to seek to ensure off-course 'RAM' alerts are routinely passed by air traffic controllers to pilots in future to help avoid a repeat of the fatal accident near Benalla in 2004 that claimed the lives of all six people on board. The ATSB has also urged pilots not to rely on a single source of navigation information and to pay careful attention to the use of automated flight systems. However, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in its Final Investigation Report was unable to find why the pilot descended a Piper Cheyenne aircraft into terrain…

The ATSB has reviewed safety information on a Qantas 747 tyre burst incident on take-off at Singapore Airport on 8 March 2006 and agrees with the Singapore and German authorities that there was no safety concern warranting a major investigation. In March 2006, specialist investigators in Australia, Singapore and Germany determined after preliminary investigation that a full investigation was not warranted. From September 2006, the ATSB and Singapore Air Accidents Investigation Branch reviewed detailed material received with the full cooperation of Qantas and again determined a major…

A preliminary report by the ATSB into the five-fatality parachuting centre accident near Willowbank, QLD on 2 January has found several areas of safety interest in the engine's turbocharger and the fuel used that will require further detailed analysis. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau preliminary findings reveal that the aircraft struck a 23 metre tree about 1,200 metres from the runway then crashed into a small dam 47 metres from the tree. Witness reports indicated that the engine apparently had a partial power loss that prevented it from climbing normally. The aircraft had been fitted…