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…

Failing to keep a proper lookout and poor radar detectability were the major contributing factors to a collision between a bulk carrier and a private yacht, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that, at about 0440 on Tuesday, 19 February 2005, a collision occurred between the bulk carrier, Goa and the sailing vessel, Marie Chocolat. Goa was approaching the anchorages offshore from the port of Newcastle, NSW while Marie Chocolat was on a recreational trip down the NSW coast. The bulk carrier did…

Sail training ship groundings An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today states that on two occasions the Australian registered sail training ship Leeuwin II grounded on uncharted shoals in poorly or inadequately surveyed areas. On 22 July 2005 Leeuwin II grounded on an uncharted shoal during a voyage under motor from Careening Bay to the Hunter River in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Just under two months later, on 16 September 2005, Leeuwin II grounded on an uncharted shoal in Shark Bay, Western Australia, during a passage from Denham to…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding this collision on 12 December 2006 will be held today, Wednesday 13 December 2006. Where: The Grounds of the Mediterranean All Suite Hotel, 81 Cavenagh St Darwin. Time: 16:00 local time (Central Standard Time) Mr Peter Foley, Deputy Director Surface Safety Investigation, the investigator in charge, 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…

A crew member who jumped into the sea after being engulfed in flames probably reduced the severity of his burn injuries according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that, at about 0840 on 21 April 2005, a crew member on board the Hong Kong bulk carrier Hui Shun Hai was working on a hydraulic oil pipeline on the main deck of the ship when the line parted, allowing pressurised hydraulic oil to escape. The oil ignited, and exploded, when it came into contact with the oxygen-acetylene flame the crew member…

A preliminary report by the ATSB into the four-fatality accident near Condobolin on 2 December indicates that there was no distress signal from the aircraft before it broke up in the vicinity of thunderstorms. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's Preliminary Aviation Safety Investigation Report into the Piper Chieftain aircraft accident near Condobolin, NSW also found that structural failure spread wreckage along a 4 km path. An active frontal weather system, accompanied by a line of frequent thunderstorms, was passing through the Condobolin area at the time of the accident. There was no…

Kym Bills B.A. (Hons), B.Ec., B.Litt., M.Sc., M. Min., FCILT, FAIM, FAICD, FRGS, FRAI, MSIAExecutive Director ATSB, 28 October 2005, Keynote speech 10:15 am [slide 1 ATSB logo] Chairman (Group Capt Noddy Sawade), Executive Chairman Peter Lloyd, distinguished guests and colleagues [slide 2 title page] I was delighted that the Safeskies Conference Board proposed the title for my talk of 'The role of the ATSB in the Systemic Management of Aviation Safety' because there appears to be a persistent level of ignorance, confusion and challenge to the role of the ATSB and like bodies around the world…

The ATSB has released recommendations to CASA relating to fitment of aircraft autopilot equipment and crew instrument approach qualifications as part of the investigation into the Lockhart River fatal accident on 7 May 2005. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau found that the Metroliner aircraft that crashed near Lockhart River on 7 May 2005 was not fitted with an autopilot and the copilot was not qualified to conduct the instrument approach the crew were conducting. Addressing both is seen by the ATSB as desirable to improve future safety. The aircraft was being operated on a scheduled…