There is increasing recognition that methods which proactively monitor airline safety may be useful in preventing air safety occurrences. Proactive rather than reactive safety programs are particularly important, considering the high social and economic costs of airline accidents to the community. However, in the aviation industry, there are currently few formal proactive safety management systems in use, and none that reliably demonstrate the desirable goal of improving safety performance. This paper outlines a new proactive safety method for the airline industry, called INDICATE (…

Incapacitation of a pilot due to the effects of a medical condition or a physiological impairment represents a serious potential threat to flight safety. The purpose of this research project was to investigate the prevalence, type, nature and significance of in-flight medical conditions and incapacitation events occurring in civil aviation. A search of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's accident and incident database was conducted for medical conditions and incapacitation events between 1 January 1975 and 31 March 2006. There were 98 occurrences in which the pilot of the aircraft was…

Communication within the air traffic system relies heavily on the verbal interaction between pilots and air traffic controllers (controllers) to ensure the safe and efficient operation of air traffic. The use of standard phraseology and radio telephony procedures, such as readbacks, minimises the opportunity for misinterpretation between pilot and controller. Some sectors of the industry have raised concerns regarding the use of excess or non-standard phraseology in readbacks on the surface movement control (SMC) frequency, resulting in radio congestion. The purpose of this report was to…

This study provides an overview of accidents involving private aircraft operations between 2001and 2005. With approximately 400,000 flying hours conducted annually, private flying accounts for around a quarter of general aviation activity. Within private operations, rotary-wing activity now contributes about 10 per cent of all hours flown. The accident rate in private aviation activities generally declined over the five-year study period, but the fatal accident rate for fixed-wing aircraft remained generally stable. There was an apparent increase in the rotary-wing fatal accident rate. The…

Spatial disorientation (SD) is among the most common factors contributing to aviation accidents and incidents, but its true prevalence is difficult to establish. This is because many accidents where SD is cited as a likely factor are fatal, and therefore its role cannot be known with any certainty, but also because in the many instances of SD where an accident doesn't result, it goes unreported. This study provides a comprehensive explanation of the various types of SD in the aviation environment, and suggest strategies for managing the risk associated with SD events. This report provides an…

Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) has been identified as one of 'aviation's historic killers', claiming the lives of more than 35,000 people since the emergence of civil aviation in the 1920s. The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of CFIT from an international perspective, to examine current and potential CFIT preventative strategies, and to specifically identify those characteristics associated with CFIT in Australia. A search of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's (ATSB) aviation safety database identified 25 CFIT accidents and two CFIT incidents in the period 1996…

Following three breakdown of separation occurrences in the airspace of the Sydney Terminal Area (TMA), the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) initiated a systemic investigation into the common factors underlying those occurrences. The investigation commenced on 22 June 1998 and was completed by 31 July 1998. Three further occurrences were identified during the course of the investigation. The systemic investigation has identified safety deficiencies primarily related to the management of change, and the rate and complexity of change faced by air traffic controllers operating in the…

Regional airline operations globally have expanded over the past decade for various reasons, including filling gaps left by legacy carriers who have reduced services on unprofitable routes, opportunities provided through other cost based market rationalisations, and the introduction of new and more capable regional type aircraft. Very little formal research has been done in Australia or overseas to assist with the development of safety models and tools for regional airline operations. Regional Express (REX) is a relatively new airline that was created by merging two separate and culturally…

This aim of the study was to provide objective data to inform fatigue risk-management processes by determining the quantity and quality of sleep obtained by airline pilots during transcontinental back of clock operations, and any changes to subjective fatigue and neurobehavioral performance during these sectors. Typical transcontinental back of clock route pairings involve a departure close to midnight Perth local time, with a dawn arrival into an East-coast city such as Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane. In many instances this first sector is followed by a second sector to another east-coast…

This study provides a systematic analysis of the types of human error occurring in Australian civil aviation accidents. It also compares these results against a larger sample of accidents occurring in the United States. Inevitably, all humans make errors. But safety can be enhanced when the number and consequences of these errors are reduced. This paper aims to enhance aviation safety through extending our knowledge of aircrew errors. While the types of accidents and flying operations varied slightly between Australia and the US, the pattern of aircrew errors were remarkably similar. Skill-…