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…

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…