Maintenance incidents contribute to a significant proportion of worldwide commercial jet accidents, yet until recently, little was known of the nature of maintenance incidents and the factors which promote them. In face-to-face interviews, maintenance technicians were asked to report examples of maintenance incidents which they had experienced first-hand. Eighty-six incident reports were recorded. Human factors were involved in most of the reported incidents, with workers on duty between the hours of 0200 and 0400 having a greater chance of having an incident than workers on duty at other…

The ATSB has come a long way since its creation on 1 July 1999. Legislation, training and IT systems have all been upgraded. The ATSB has an increasingly national and international reputation for independent safety material. This is reflected in the almost 800,000 new visitors to the ATSB website which also had more than 30 million 'hits' in 200607, and in multiple articles in such publications as the prestigious US-based Flight Safety Foundations AeroSafety World. During 2006 - 07, the ATSB finalised its complex investigation into Australian civil aviation's worst accident since 1968, the 15…

Since 1970 fatalities resulting from accidents between road vehicles and trains at level crossings have reduced by about 70 per cent. However, recently there has been an increasing number of accidents involving heavy road vehicles. Between April 2006 and December 2007, the ATSB investigated 12 level crossing accidents. Of these 12 accidents, nine have involved heavy road vehicles, four of which have been collisions with long distance passenger trains. In addition, during the same period State authorities have investigated a further three significant accidents between heavy vehicles and…

This report tables rail safety occurrence data by state and territory between January 2001 and December 2007. Data is adjusted annually to reflect new information that comes to light during the reporting period. There is a lag period of approximately 3 to 4 months between the end of the reporting period and publication of these data. Previous versions of this publication should be discarded. These data are presented as counts and normalised using kilometres travelled and number of track kilometres. Data presented in this report conforms to Standard No. ON-S1: Occurrence Categories and…

Aircraft depressurisation events are rare, but they can occur with little or no warning. The faster you put on your oxygen mask, the better the chance that you will stay safe and remain capable of helping children and others. Reading this safety bulletin will help ensure that you can recognise and appropriately react to an aircraft depressurisation if one should occur. Why are aircraft pressurised? Modern aircraft are designed to fly at high altitudes. (For example, large jet aircraft normally cruise at an altitude of 28,000 – 35,000 ft). This is because aircraft consume less fuel and can fly…

With the creation of the ATSB in July 1999, followed by the enactment of the Transport Safety Investigation Act (TSI Act) in 2003, Australia had for the first time a national body with a mandate for professional and independent rail safety investigations. In its relatively short existence, the ATSB's rail safety unit has had a significant influence on rail safety in Australia. In particular, it has been instrumental in fostering an approach that emphasises the importance of system safety, rather than just focusing on the mistakes of operational personnel. Other notable achievements of the…

This report provides aviation accident and incident, collectively termed occurrence, data for the period 1 January 1998 to 30 September 2008. This data was provided to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau by 'responsible persons' as defined in the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations 2003, Part 2.5. The data excludes non-VH registered operations in the sport aviation category, and is current as at 30 September 2008. The data will be adjusted quarterly to reflect new information received during the reporting period.

This report tables rail safety occurrence data by State and Territory between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2008. Data is adjusted biannually to reflect new information that comes to light during the reporting period. There is a lag period of approximately three to four months between the end of the six-monthly reporting period and publication of this data. The data is presented as counts, and normalised using kilometres travelled and number of track kilometres. Please contact individual jurisdictions for media enquiries. Media Contacts: [PDF: 15KB]

The objective of the project is to analyse GPWS warnings in Australia with a view to addressing ICAO steps (e) Investigation of GPWS warnings and (f) Reduction of unwanted warnings, of the circular AN11/1.1.1993/61. CFIT accidents are the most severe aircraft accidents. These kinds of accidents occur when an otherwise airworthy airplane is inadvertently flown into the ground or water. The number of fatalities per accident is extremely high as compared to any other type of accident. They also generally result in complete destruction of the airplane. If CFIT accidents were to be completely…

For many decades, fibre composites have been replacing traditional aluminium structures in a wide variety of aircraft types. From the first all-composite kit plane released in 1957, composites are widespread today in commercial aircraft and many other aircraft types. This is due to the cost and weight savings that materials such as glass/phenolic and carbon/epoxy offer aircraft manufacturers over aluminium, while maintaining or surpassing its strength and durability. This study provides an overview of fibre composite use in aircraft and the issues associated with its use, with a focus on…