Sail training ship groundings An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today states that on two occasions the Australian registered sail training ship Leeuwin II grounded on uncharted shoals in poorly or inadequately surveyed areas. On 22 July 2005 Leeuwin II grounded on an uncharted shoal during a voyage under motor from Careening Bay to the Hunter River in the Kimberly region of Western Australia. Just under two months later, on 16 September 2005, Leeuwin II grounded on an uncharted shoal in Shark Bay, Western Australia…

The ATSB has Reported substantial safety action to seek to ensure off-course 'RAM' alerts are routinely passed by air traffic controllers to pilots in future to help avoid a repeat of the fatal accident near Benalla in 2004 that claimed the lives of all six people on board. The ATSB has also urged pilots not to rely on a single source of navigation information and to pay careful attention to the use of automated flight systems. However, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in its Final Investigation…

The ATSB has reviewed safety information on a Qantas 747 tyre burst incident on take-off at Singapore Airport on 8 March 2006 and agrees with the Singapore and German authorities that there was no safety concern warranting a major investigation. In March 2006, specialist investigators in Australia, Singapore and Germany determined after preliminary investigation that a full investigation was not warranted. From September 2006, the ATSB and Singapore Air Accidents Investigation Branch reviewed detailed material received with the full cooperation of Qantas and again determined a major…

The placement of three empty rollingstock platforms immediately behind the locomotive was one of a number of key factors that combined to cause a freight train to derail at Glenalta, South Australia on 21 November 2004, according to an ATSB investigation report released today. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report states that the accident occurred after a single freight wagon bogie derailed over a set of points at Belair. A wheel contacted and lifted on top of a check-rail. The check-rail is designed to guide…

The ATSB has found that severe corrosion over a long period led to two deaths when a lifeboat fell 16 metres during a safety drill. The two crew died and three were seriously injured in a lifeboat accident on board the Hong Kong registered Lowlands Grace while the ship was anchored off Port Hedland, Western Australia, on 7 October 2004. The five casualties were members of the crew who had boarded one of the ship's lifeboats during a planned lifeboat drill. While it was being lowered, the lifeboat's after on-load release hook failed and released the stern of the 3.5 tonne boat from its davit…

A preliminary report by the ATSB into the five-fatality parachuting centre accident near Willowbank, QLD on 2 January has found several areas of safety interest in the engine's turbocharger and the fuel used that will require further detailed analysis. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau preliminary findings reveal that the aircraft struck a 23 metre tree about 1,200 metres from the runway then crashed into a small dam 47 metres from the tree. Witness reports indicated that the engine apparently had a partial power…

Kym Bills B.A. (Hons), B.Ec., B.Litt., M.Sc., M. Min., FCILT, FAIM, FAICD, FRGS, FRAI, MSIAExecutive Director ATSB, 28 October 2005, Keynote speech 10:15 am [slide 1 ATSB logo] Chairman (Group Capt Noddy Sawade), Executive Chairman Peter Lloyd, distinguished guests and colleagues [slide 2 title page] I was delighted that the Safeskies Conference Board proposed the title for my talk of 'The role of the ATSB in the Systemic Management of Aviation Safety' because there appears to be a persistent level of ignorance, confusion and challenge to the role of the ATSB and like bodies around the world…

A crew member who jumped into the sea after being engulfed in flames probably reduced the severity of his burn injuries according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that, at about 0840 on 21 April 2005, a crew member on board the Hong Kong bulk carrier Hui Shun Hai was working on a hydraulic oil pipeline on the main deck of the ship when the line parted, allowing pressurised hydraulic oil to escape. The oil ignited, and exploded…

A preliminary Report by the ATSB into the four-fatality accident near Condobolin on 2 December indicates that there was no distress signal from the aircraft before it broke up in the vicinity of thunderstorms. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's Preliminary Aviation Safety Investigation Report into the Piper Chieftain aircraft accident near Condobolin, NSW also found that structural failure spread wreckage along a 4 km path. An active…

The ATSB's Final Aviation Safety Investigation report, into a fatal helicopter wire strike accident at Dunedoo, NSW, has found that the pilot and passengers were generally aware of the location of the wire but the helicopter still struck it during its locust control operation. Workload and possible loss of concentration may have contributed. The pilot was conducting aerial spotting operations in a Bell Helicopter Model 206B on 22 November 2004 in support of locust control operations being administered by the NSW…