Why the ATSB did this research Through routine trend monitoring of safety occurrence reporting, the ATSB became aware of a potential issue surrounding the frequency of light aircraft engine failures and malfunctions (both Australian VH and recreationally-registered). To formally and more fully examine the contributing factors behind these statistical observations, the ATSB initiated this Aviation Research investigation (under the provisions of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003). What the ATSB found Over the 6-year study period between 2009 and 2014, 322 engine failures or…

Background The ATSB is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean. Geoscience Australia is providing advice, expertise and support to the ATSB. With the bathymetric survey completed, the underwater search commenced in October 2014. Summary The underwater search is being carried out utilising vessels equipped with a towfish – an underwater vehicle which carries various instruments used to survey the seafloor. The key instruments are side scan sonar and the multi-beam echo sounders which survey the nadir (the gap in side scan sonar coverage under…

The Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin covers a range of the ATSB’s short investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers. Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken. The Bulletin also highlights important Safety Messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB…

The Australian Airports Association (AAA) commissioned preparation of this Airport Practice Note to provide aerodrome operators with species information fact sheets to assist them to manage the wildlife hazards at their aerodrome. The species information fact sheets were originally published in June 2004 by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) as Bird Information Fact Sheets. The AAA was prompted to revise and add additional fact sheets for supplementary species by the release of the ATSB Australian aviation wildlife strike statistics 2004 – 2013 report. This report listed Kites and…

The Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin covers a range of the ATSB’s short investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers. Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken. The Bulletin also highlights important Safety Messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB…

Introduction The ATSB Annual Report 2014–15 outlines performance against the outcome and program structure in the 2014–15 Infrastructure and Regional Development Portfolio Budget Statements. Chief Commissioner’s review 2014–15 This was the ATSB’s sixth year as a fully independent body within the Infrastructure and Regional Development portfolio. In addition to the continuing search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, 2014–15 saw the completion of a range of significant investigations and some significant governance changes for the ATSB. In July 2013, I requested the Transportation…

The Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin covers a range of the ATSB’s short investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers. Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken. The Bulletin also highlights important Safety Messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB…

Background The ATSB is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) performed drift modelling based on the revised search area defined in the report MH370 - Flight Path Analysis Update released on 8 October 2014. Overview Looking at past accidents, there is almost always some debris left floating after an aircraft crashes in water. The opportunity to locate and recover debris from the sea surface diminishes rapidly over the first few weeks from the time of a crash. Thereafter…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is leading the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean. The most promising clues to the final location of the aircraft are satellite communication (SATCOM) signals between MH370, the Indian Ocean Region Inmarsat satellite, and the Inmarsat ground station in Perth, WA. Work by an international team of specialists using the Burst Timing Offset (BTO) identified the seventh arc as the likely final location of MH370. Further work has been done using the Burst Frequency Offset (BFO) to identify the priority search…

The Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin covers a range of the ATSB’s short investigations and highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers. Released periodically, the Bulletin provides a summary of the less-complex factual investigation reports conducted by the ATSB. The results, based on information supplied by organisations or individuals involved in the occurrence, detail the facts behind the event, as well as any safety actions undertaken. The Bulletin also highlights important Safety Messages for the broader aviation community, drawing on earlier ATSB…