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…

A leak in the main water ballast line in the engine room of the Panamanian registered bulk carrier Harmonic Progress led to the ship becoming disabled in the Coral Sea at 1230 on 16 April 2004, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the disabling of Harmonic Progress states that the flow of water ballast into the engine room bilges was not sufficiently controlled before it reached a depth of 1.5 metres. At that depth, the water entered the motors for the main engines lubricating oil pumps and caused them to short…

The ATSB's preliminary examination of recorders from the fatal Metroliner accident has found good data on the aircraft flight data recorder but not on the cockpit voice recorder. The two recorders were located in the aircraft wreckage on the afternoon following the accident and carried to the ATSB Canberra laboratories, arriving at 7 pm on Monday. Both recorders were heat affected from the post-accident fire. Useful data of reasonably good quality has been retrieved from the flight data recorder (FDR) and detailed verification and analysis of that information has commenced. The FDR contained…

Failing to keep a proper lookout and poor radar detectability were the major contributing factors to a collision between a bulk carrier and a private yacht, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report released today. The ATSB report into the incident states that, at about 0440 on Tuesday, 19 February 2005, a collision occurred between the bulk carrier, Goa and the sailing vessel, Marie Chocolat. Goa was approaching the anchorages offshore from the port of Newcastle, NSW while Marie Chocolat was on a recreational trip down the NSW coast. The bulk carrier did…

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, during a passage from Denham to…

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 Report was unable to find why the pilot descended a Piper Cheyenne aircraft into terrain…

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 a wheel in the correct direction through the points. However, in this case…