On 11 January 2001, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau advised that it had commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the omission by Ansett Australia to undertake specified maintenance requirements for Boeing 767 aircraft [Media Release]. This situation was regarded as having the potential to affect adversely the safety of aviation and was a safety deficiency. Accordingly, a safety deficiency investigation was commenced. The investigation is continuing with the full cooperation of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the United States Federal Aviation Administration,…

If you have read an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation, research, or statistical report in the past 12 months the ATSB wants to hear from you. The ATSB is an operationally independent bureau within the Australian Government Department of Transport and Regional Services and is Australia prime agency for transport safety investigations. It is entirely separate from transport regulators and service providers; The Bureau investigates and produces reports and statistics on all modes of transport: rail, sea, air and road. The ATSB has commissioned Colmar Brunton to conduct a…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Piper PA-30, Twin Comanche fatal accident on 4 February 2007 will be held today, Monday 5 February 2007 Where: Casuarina Housing Estate, Kingscliff Beach NSWTime: 15:00 local time (NSW Time) Mr Rod Fearon, the Operations investigator, 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 contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616. No further media briefings will…

A media conference to provide an update on the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Aero Commander fatal accident on 31 July 2007 will be held on, Friday 3 August 2007 Where: On the road between West Wallan and Clonbinane, East of Monument Hill in Victoria. (37deg 21.4S 145deg 05.8E) Time: 09:30 local time (Eastern Standard Time) Mr Alex Hood, the investigator in charge (IIC), will provide an update on the progress of the investigation, including factual information known to the investigation team at this time. Any person/witness with information about the…

Today the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released its report on the contaminated aviation gasoline (Avgas) investigation that followed the grounding of thousands of piston engine aircraft across eastern Australia in January 2000. The investigation found that a very small amount of an anti-corrosion chemical that was not removed in Mobil's avgas refining process in late 1999, and not detected by the usual tests, led to the safety problem. The ATSB has made 24 separate recommendations that include recommended safety actions for Mobil Oil Australia, US and UK fuel standards bodies,…

On Wednesday 4 April 2007 at 10.30 am AEST, the ATSB will hold a media conference to release its final investigation report into the Lockhart River accident, in which both pilots and all 13 passengers perished in a regular public transport Metroliner 23 accident. When: Wednesday 4 April 2007 Where: 15 Mort Street, Canberra, ACT (ATSB Headquarters) Time: 10:30 local time (Australian Eastern Standard Time) Mr Kym Bills, Executive Director, ATSB will present and discuss the findings of the final report and associated safety action.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating an occurrence in which a Singapore-bound Emirates Airlines Boeing 777 (flight number UAE69) stopped its take-off from runway 16 at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport when the left engine failed. Initially smoke and flames were visible but the crew reported that there was no fire. The incident happened at 8:55 pm Eastern Summer Time on 30 January 2001. The aircraft was able to return to the terminal safely where the passengers disembarked normally. There were no reported injuries. "Preliminary advice suggests that the engine failure may have…

Failure to keep proper lookouts aboard the Liberian woodchip carrier Craig The Pioneer and the Australian prawn trawler May Bell II resulted in a collision between the two vessels east of Newcastle at 0157 on 9 October 1999, according to the report of the investigation into the accident released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) today. The collision occurred in fine weather conditions as the crew of the trawler was recovering its nets. The bow of the trawler was damaged, but its crew suffered no injuries and the vessel returned safely to Sydney. The trawler was well illuminated…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the recent omission by Ansett to undertake specified maintenance requirements for Boeing 767 aircraft. This situation can reasonably be regarded as having the potential to affect adversely the safety of aviation and is therefore a safety deficiency. The safety deficiency investigation will include examination of: Boeing aircraft airworthiness Ansett's maintenance quality assurance system, and CASA's systems for compliance, including procedures delegating responsibilities to…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is undertaking on-site investigations into the three tragic aircraft accidents that occurred over the January holiday weekend claiming the lives of nine people. A Beech 23 Musketeer crashed shortly after take-off from Canberra Airport resulting in fatal injuries to all four occupants. A Pitts Special crashed while conducting aerobatic manoeuvres near Brisbane - the sole occupant was fatally injured. A Cessna 310 crashed north-east of Newman, Western Australia during a night flight - the four occupants were fatally injured. ATSB Safety…