An ATSB preliminary factual report into an electrical system failure involving a Boeing 747-400 near Bangkok on 7 January 2008 indicates that the event was less serious than first reported. The aircraft, with 346 passengers and 19 crew on board, was being operated on a scheduled service between London and Bangkok. When the aircraft was at about 21,000 feet on descent to Bangkok Airport, the customer service manager notified the flight crew that a substantial water leak had occurred in the forward galley. Over the following 12 to 13 minutes, cockpit indications showed a number of electrical…

The ATSB has found that a seaman may have been fatigued when he fell from a bulk carriers cargo hold ladder at the end the working day on 8 August 2007. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation also found that he may have been distracted by the equipment he was carrying and as a result of a mixture of perspiration and hydrochloric acid that would have caused irritation to his skin and eyes. On 8 August 2007, Oceanic Angel was about three degrees south of the equator and en-route to Dampier, Australia. After lunch, the crew were preparing the cargo holds for an upcoming salt cargo…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its final investigation report into the serious incident at Perth Airport, WA on 9 May 2008, involving an approach and landing by a Boeing Company 737-800, registered PK-GEF, during a period of planned runway works. The ATSB report found that the permanent runway 21 threshold and touchdown markings were not required to be obscured and were clearly visible to the flight crew. Those markings continued to provide approach and landing cues to the normal touchdown zone, which was located within the runway works area. The use of 6 m closed…

An ATSB investigation has found that a number of factors combined to cause the derailment of a freight train at Yerong Creek in southern NSW on 4 January 2006, any one of which may not have resulted in a derailment in its own right. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation into the derailment concluded that a track misalignment occurred as a result of localised stresses in the rail that had built up until the track moved as the train passed over it. The track at this location, the main rail corridor between Melbourne and Sydney, has rails that have been welded into one continuous…

The ATSB has found that a broken rail emanating from rail defect was the most probable cause of the derailment of a freight train in South Australia. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has today released its final report into the investigation of a derailment on 10 June 2007 near Bates in SA in which 11 wagons in the middle of the train derailed and 4 overturned and were extensively damaged. The investigation established that the derailment probably resulted from an undetected flaw in the rail which caused a section to break away under the train. While track at the derailment site had…

The ATSB has determined that the derailment of a freight train on the Defined Interstate Rail Network near Seymour was due to a wagon coupler that fell onto the track and became caught under a trailing wagon. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has today released its final report on the investigation of the derailment that occurred near Seymour in Victoria on 12 September 2006. The train derailed at 0520 while travelling from Griffith NSW to Melbourne and was loaded with food products for export. The coupler, connecting the seventh and eighth wagons in the train, became dislodged when the…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the reported mid-air collision between a Robinson helicopter and a Piper Cub that occurred during the late afternoon on 13 February 2008, in the ranges north of Gascoyne Junction. A team of four (4) Transport Safety Investigators is expected to be in Carnarvon later today to commence the on-site phase of the investigation. Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616. Further advice will be provided if the ATSB decides to…

The ATSB has found that the grounding of Pasha Bulker on Nobbys Beach on 8 June 2007 occurred despite a gale warning that should have prompted the master to ballast the ship for heavy weather and take it to sea. A number of other ships also failed to take to sea. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found that Pasha Bulker's master had an inadequate understanding of heavy weather ballast, anchor holding power and the limitations of Newcastle's weather exposed anchorage. The investigation also found that a number of other ships attempted to ride out the gale at anchor and the…

The ATSB has found that the speed boat Norma Jean was travelling too fast in the darkness to avoid a collision that claimed four lives. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's final investigation report states that the Norma Jean's probable high speed was inappropriate in the dark conditions and the use of the boat's internal lighting may have restricted the ability of the boat's skipper to see the barge until immediately before the collision. At about 1500 on 12 March 2007, the unmanned barge Seatow 61 was anchored about three miles off Carnarvon, Western Australia, and the barge's anchor…

The ATSB has found that a collision between a GrainCorp freight train and overturned truck occurred because train control could not contact the approaching train in the ten minutes or so before the collision. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has today released its final report into the investigation of a collision that occurred at the Olympic Highway level crossing at Illabo in New South Wales on 2 November 2006. At the time of the collision it was dark and raining. The semi-trailer overturned while negotiating the curve prior to the level crossing. The truck driver called '000' and the…