The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is releasing its
Preliminary Factual report into the ditching that occurred 6 km to
the west of Norfolk Island on the evening of 18 November 2009 and
involved Israel Aircraft Industries Westwind 1124A aircraft,
registered VH-NGA. The six occupants evacuated the aircraft as it
sank, and were later recovered by a rescue vessel from Norfolk
Island.
While the ATSB has yet to establish all the factors relevant to
this occurrence, it nevertheless highlights the risks in operating
long distance flights to remote island locations which are subject
to rapidly changing weather conditions.
As a result of this accident, the aircraft operator commenced a
program to check and revalidate the company's commercial Westwind
pilots. The program addressed a number of aspects of the company's
Westwind operations.
The ATSB has interviewed a number of witnesses and people who
were associated with the occurrence, and is assessing the
feasibility of recovering the aircraft Cockpit Voice and Flight
Data recorders from the seabed.
The investigation is continuing and will include further
examination and analysis of the:
• meteorological information and its effect on the decision
making and actions of the crew during the flight
• fuel planning relevant to the flight
• operational requirements that were relevant to the conduct of
the flight
• crew resource management
• aeromedical flight classification and dispatch.
The remainder of the investigation is likely to take some
months. However, should any critical safety issues emerge that
require urgent attention, the ATSB will immediately bring such
issues to the attention of the relevant authorities who are best
placed to take prompt action to address those issues.