The ATSB's Preliminary Aviation Safety Investigation Report into the 7 May 2005 Lockhart River accident in which two pilots and 13 passengers perished has found that the Metroliner had descended about 1000 ft below the minimum obstacle clearance altitude when it collided with terrain. The aircraft had cut a swath of less than 100 m through heavy timber on the steep slope. Preliminary information recovered from the flight data recorder and on-site examination of components indicates that both engines were producing about 30 to 35% torque. This is consistent with an approach power setting. The…

The ATSB's final investigation report has found that an Airbus A330 passenger aircraft that landed at Sydney in fog on 6 April last year did so because the adverse weather conditions were unforecast and the flight crew continued to manoeuvre the aircraft for a landing at Sydney past the time they had previously nominated as the latest time for a diversion to Canberra. Since the occurrence safety action has been taken by the air traffic services provider and the Bureau of Meteorology to improve the reporting of weather information to flight crews and to improve the accuracy of fog forecasting…

The engineers placed themselves in danger to save a ship in gale force weather conditions in Bass Strait after its main engine became disabled according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report states that the Hong Kong registered container ship, Maersk Tacoma, spent 19 hours adrift before being taken in tow on 8 August 2001. The incident is still the subject of legal action in London between the ship's owners and various other parties. The ATSB waited for 34 months to obtain the engineering report from the owner's representatives on…

One seaman died and another was severely injured when a large wave broke over the bow of the container vessel Aotearoa Chief on 14 August 2004, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that the Hong Kong registered Aotearoa Chief disembarked its harbour pilot at about 6 pm, shortly after the ship had cleared the entrance to Melbourne's Port Philip Bay. The master then ordered an alteration of course to take the ship away from the coast. While on this new course, an abnormal wave broke over the…

The ATSB investigation into the fatal Piper Seneca accident on 11 November 2003, at Bankstown Airport has found that the aircraft departed from controlled flight at a height from which recovery was not possible. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined. The aircraft was being operated on a multi-engine aircraft training flight with a flight instructor and student pilot on board. After commencing a go-around, the aircraft was observed to diverge to the right of the runway centreline, climb and bank steeply to the right before impacting the ground in a steep nose-down attitude…

The ATSB's final report into a Boeing 747 brake fire accident that resulted in the serious injury of three passengers and one pilot found that incorrect grease had been applied to the aircraft's landing gear and that one of the over-wing evacuation slides had failed due to overload of its fabric fibres during the evacuation. The aircraft had just arrived at the Sydney terminal after a flight from Singapore. The factors that contributed to the three small brake fires included: the presence of incorrect and excessive amounts of grease on the aircraft's landing gear axles, the inadvertent de-…

The ATSBs final report into the fatal aircraft accident at Jandakot on 11 August 2003 has determined that the aircrafts right engine lost power soon after take-off when its engine driven fuel pump seized. The Cessna 404 was being operated by one pilot and had five passengers who were to operate specialised equipment on the aircraft during maritime operations approximately 40 NM west of Jandakot. One passenger did not vacate the aircraft and was fatally injured. The pilot and the other four passengers sustained serious injuries as they vacated the aircraft. One of those passengers died from…

Over reliance on the accuracy of Global Positioning System (GPS) derived positions by a watchkeeper contributed to the grounding of the 35 m adventure cruise vessel True North at about 2300 on 7 August 2004, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the grounding of True North in the approach passage to St. George Basin, in Western Australia's Kimberley region, states that the vessel grounded on or near Strong Tide Point after a voyage from Prince Frederick Harbour. On board at the time of the grounding were 26…

The ATSB's final report into the tragic helicopter accident near Mackay that killed all three crewmembers found that spatial disorientation of the pilot was likely and includes a number of safety recommendations to prevent a recurrence. The Bell 407 helicopter, operating under the night Visual Flight Rules (VFR), was en-route from Mackay to Hamilton Island, to pick up a patient, when it crashed into the sea. The report found that the circumstances of the accident combined most of the risk factors known to be associated with helicopter Emergency Medical Services (EMS) accidents. These included…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today deals with the collision between a ship, Asian Nova, and a fishing vessel, Sassenach, off Townsville on 29 May 2003 in which a local fisherman lost his life. The fishing vessel's skipper lost his life as a result of the collision, his body was recovered from the sunken trawler on 5 June 2003. The boat's other crew member, the deckhand, was able to jump clear at impact and was rescued some five hours later by a searching fishing boat. Poor watch handover practices and a poor lookout were identified as major…