Introduction The problem of collisions at railway crossings is an on-going one for rail operators, track providers and regulators and road authorities in Australia. While the number of deaths and injuries is small in comparison to other road casualties and has been reduced considerably in recent years, they are the most serious safety issue faced by the rail system in Australia. The genesis of the present project was at a special meeting of the Australian Transport Council (ATC) on 8 August 2002 that considered the outcome of recent tests of locomotive auxiliary lighting. It was agreed at…

Pratt & Whitney Canada PW118A, Engine s/n 115120 INTRODUCTION Airnorth Regional experienced operational problems with a Pratt and Whitney Canada PW118A engine (engine s/n PC-E 115120). The problems ranged from hung starts resulting in aborted hot starts to vibration (sub-idle vibration) and noise from the high pressure (HP) rotor. These problems occurred over a period of several days. In order to resolve the problems the engine was removed from the aircraft to allow further investigation through disassembly. Disassembly revealed that the bolted joint between the HP turbine disk and…

A seaman was killed and two other seamen were seriously injured when the lifeboat they were in fell 20 metres to the water after the wire falls parted. The limit switches did not operate and the falls parted when the davits came up to their stops with the winch motor running. Another fatality was only prevented by a crewmember's safety helmet. This was one of three similar accidents where lives were put at risk.

Time and again, fatigue has been a major factor in marine incidents and the collision described below is a perfect example of the effects of fatigue. It is a matter of sheer luck that more fishermen have not been killed as a result of fatigue-related accidents.

October Audit Report of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) of Australia (Field work conducted in Canberra, 31 May to 4 June 2004) Executive Summary The ICAO audit team commended the positive and professional approach of the ATSB in proactively seeking the audit. The team was highly satisfied with the legislative and organizational framework established by Australia and the ATSB enabling the conduct of aircraft accident and incident investigations. Nevertheless, the audit focussed on all areas related to accident and incident investigation and found possible areas of improvement.…

When fishing in waters off the Australian coast, fishermen will encounter large trading ships. Unfortunately, sometimes ships and fishing vessels collide. The ATSB has investigated 21 of these collisions since 1990. In two collisions investigated, the skippers of the fishing vessels were trapped in their wheelhouses and drowned when the vessels sank. The investigations have revealed that in almost all the collisions, there were similar factors present which contributed to the accident and precautions had not been taken that may have saved a life or, at least aided the search for survivors.

The purpose of this publication is to provide an overview of level crossing accident fatalities in Australia.

The purpose of this publication is to examine trends in the numbers of transport accident deaths in Australia in the 1980s and 1990s in the light of the most recent comparable data from most other countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Overall, the data indicate that in the period from 1980 to 1999 Australias transport safety improvement compared favourably with that of other OECD countries and performance reached OECD median levels in the 1990s. Data for this publication have been obtained from the World Health Organisations Mortality…

Light utility helicopters made up half the fleet of registered helicopters in Australia, yet were involved in 72 per cent of helicopter accidents between January 1985 and December 2003. This report compared the relative safety of four light utility helicopter models. These are the: Robinson R22, 47G (made variously by Bell Helicopter Company, Agusta SPA Costruzioni or Kawasaki Heavy Industries), 269 (made by Hughes Helicopters or Schweizer Aircraft Corporation) and Hiller UH-12E. These helicopters are primarily single engine, reciprocating engine aircraft and the demand for them in Australia…

The adequacy of MBZ procedures to ensure the safety of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR), Regular Public Transport (RPT) and charter aircraft has been questioned several times since their inception in 1991. The former Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) recommended in 1993 that, to enhance safety within MBZs (then called MTAFs), areas such as pilot education and training, along with stricter surveillance and enforcement of procedural compliance, be reviewed. BASI further recommended in 1997 that options for pilots to confirm the correct operation of communication equipment be examined. The…