The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has released its final report after an almost two-year investigation of the systemic factors behind the groundings of Ansett B767 aircraft. While Ansett has ceased flying, the ATSB continued its investigation because of the importance of the issues involved for the safety of 'Class A' aircraft around the world. The ATSB found that in addition to errors and omissions by individuals in Ansett, there were deeper system and resource weaknesses in the airline group and shortcomings by the US regulator of the aircraft type (the FAA) both of which CASA was…

The first ATSB graduates from the recently accredited Diploma of Transport Safety Investigation were presented with their awards on 18 October 2002. Senior ATSB investigators Alan Stray, Kit Filor and Kerryn Macaulay received their Diplomas after successfully completing the streamlined assessment process aimed at recognising prior learning and current competency. Awards were also made to 12 staff who successfully completed a Certificate Level 4 course in Assessment and Workplace Training. This qualifies them to train and assess at the Diploma level. The awards are the first since the Bureau…

The ATSB's final investigation report into an aircraft accident near Willowbank in Queensland last year, resulting in five deceased persons and two seriously injured survivors, found that the aircraft's performance prior to impacting a large tree and crashing into a dam was consistent with an engine power loss. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report states that technical examination of the Cessna 206's engine and its associated components did not reveal anomalies with the potential to have individually contributed to the partial engine power loss and loss of climb performance about 100…

The Executive Director of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has today authorised the re-opening of the investigation into the crash of Whyalla Airlines VH-MZK. This is to enable the ATSB to seek the assistance of the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to conduct further testing of the MZK left engine crankshaft, which is currently in the US, including destructive testing at the site of the fracture. The ATSB did not undertake such destructive testing in its original investigation because the detailed tests that were conducted indicated no crankshaft material problems and the…

The ATSB has found that four crew members who were injured on board the bulk carrier Shirane on 2 April 2007 were not aware of similar previous boiler explosions (flashbacks) which could have fore warned them. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation also found that the ship's crew were not aware of all of the hazards associated with servicing the boiler burner and that the personal protective equipment they were using did not provide them with adequate protection. On the morning of 2 April 2007, Shirane was off Newcastle, New South Wales and the ship's third engineer had been…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today released a report on the circumstances of a serious incident where a fare-paying scheduled passenger flight encountered microburst windshear near Brisbane last year. Windshear is a change in wind speed and/or direction, including updrafts and downdrafts. An aircraft may experience a significant deterioration in flight performance when exposed to windshear of sufficient intensity or duration. On 18 January 2001, a Boeing 737-476 aircraft (VH-TJX) encountered microburst windshear at 7.29am while conducting a go-around from runway 19 at…

ATTENTION: Editors/Chief of Staff, Aviation/transport writers The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's prime transport safety investigation agency and conducts independent investigation of civil aviation accidents, incidents and safety deficiencies. The ATSB also has safety roles in other transport modes including maritime and rail investigation, statistical analysis and research, and coordination of the National Road Safety Strategy. A small dedicated Communications & Information (C&I) team handles inquiries from local, interstate and international…

The ATSB is pleased that Coroner Hope has adopted much of the material in ATSB's final report on the tragic VH-SKC accident and stated that "ultimately it appears that the ATSB report was based on a substantial amount of scientific investigation and many issues were diligently pursued" (p21). The Coroner also cites (eg p6) the evidence of Dr Brock who was a consultant to the ATSB and part of the ATSB investigation team. The Coroner concludes (p55) that: "It appears that the aircraft was unpressurised for a significant period of its climb and for the subsequent flight. While it is possible…

Container ship's contact with a navigational beacon in Moreton Bay.

ATSB releases preliminary report on Hamilton Island crash