Section 21 (2) of the Transport Safety Investigation Act
2003 (TSI Act) empowers the ATSB to discontinue an
investigation at any time. Section 21 (3) of the TSI Act requires
the ATSB to publish a statement setting out the reasons for
discontinuing an investigation.
An investigation was commenced into a pitch down event
involving a Fairchild Industries Inc. SA226-AC on a scheduled
freight flight from Moree, NSW to Brisbane, Qld on 24 December
2009. Information from tests conducted by the aircraft operator, on
the aircraft after the flight, did not reveal any problems with the
aircraft and it was returned to service. The ATSB's analysis of
flight recorder data did not disclose any additional safety
information. The ATSB has assessed that further investigation was
unlikely to produce any benefit for transport safety and has
elected to discontinue the investigation.
The data collected in the course of the investigation may be used
by the ATSB for future statistical analysis and safety research
purposes.