Occurrence investigations commenced from 1 July 2003 are
initially categorized as level 4 unless agreed by the ATSB
Executive to be above this level at the outset. As detailed in
Section 21 (2) of the TSI Act 2003, the Executive Director is
empowered to discontinue an investigation at any time. Section 21
(3) of the TSI Act 2003 requires the Executive Director to publish
a statement setting out the reasons for discontinuing an
investigation (commenced from 1 July 2003) within 28 days of
discontinuing the investigation.
An investigation was commenced into a level 4 occurrence
involving a Piper PA-24 aircraft, registered VH-EKB, that was
cleared to conduct an instrument approach to Essendon Airport on 26
October 2007. At the time, air traffic controllers were concerned
that the aircraft was below the glide path for the instrument
approach. The preliminary investigation found that the aircraft
became clear of cloud and the pilot was flying visually, but had
not notified air traffic control (ATC) of this. The pilot was only
recently rated to fly in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)
and had originally planned for a visual arrival into Essendon
Airport, however the weather conditions had deteriorated. During
the investigation, the pilot was advised to ensure that he kept air
traffic control aware of the progress of the flight and any
subsequent changes. As the circumstances were considered not likely
to have significant implications for transport safety compared with
other priorities, the Executive Director has discontinued the
investigation.
Status: Downgraded the occurrence to level
5