The ATSB invited representatives from the Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) of Indonesia to attend the Safeskies Conference being held in Canberra. The guests took the opportunity to also visit the ATSB headquarters in Canberra on Tuesday.
ATSB Manager International Richard Batt said that the sponsored visit was an excellent opportunity to expand upon the programs of cooperation and capability-building that Australia enjoyed with its neighbours.
“We’re building an increasingly strong transport safety-investigation community throughout the Asia Pacific region,” said Dr Batt. “Through the Indonesia Transport Safety Assistance Package and our Memorandum of Understanding with Government of PNG on cooperation in the transport sector, we’re enabling a greater flow of skills and knowledge between investigators.”
The visitors were AIC Chief Commissioner Mr Hubert Namani and Commissioner and Caretaker CEO Mr David Tawae, and Mr Ray Nurcahyo and Ms Ucu Suherman of the NTSC. Mr Nurcahyo is the head of Aviation Investigation Sub-Committee and Ms Suherman is a Human Factors Investigator.
During their visit to the ATSB offices, the visitors met with Chief Commissioner Greg Hood, as well as with other ATSB investigators to discuss the latest developments in transport safety. Part of the visit was spent receiving a briefing of the applications and implications of Remotely Piloted Aviation Systems in transport safety investigations.
“This ongoing collaboration and information-sharing is important,” said Dr Batt. “It allows all the organisations to pool their experience and insights, making us all more effective. This brings benefits, not only to the investigators, but also all the members of the public who travel throughout our region each year.”