The ATSB has released a second interim factual report on the Piper Cheyenne accident on 28 July 2004 in which the pilot and five passengers died. The ATSB has established that the aircraft diverged between 3.4 and 4 degrees left of the intended track between a point abeam Ulladulla and where it disappeared from radar. The ATSB is conducting further tests of the modes and functionality of the GPS receiver type that was used on the aircraft, to determine if the flight path can be replicated with a copy of the data used by the pilot. The damaged GPS data card has been sent to the Bureau d'…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating a fatal aviation accident involving a Cessna 310R aircraft, VH-FIN, which occurred near Tamworth, New South Wales at about 1.30 pm local time, 7 March 2005. The ATSB will be conducting a media conference near the accident site at 1 pm today, 8 March. This will be the only onsite interview provided by the investigation team. All other interviews will be through the ATSB's central office, details below. The media are invited to meet the investigator in charge at the front gate of the Rose Hill property, 7 km west of Tamworth on the New…

A media conference discussing the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Cessna 206 fatal accident on 2 January 2006 will be held today, Tuesday 3 January 2006 Where: 15 Mort Street, Canberra City ACT (ATSB headquarters) Time: 12:00 local time Mr Alan Stray, Deputy Director, Aviation Safety Investigation, will discuss factual material known to the investigation team at this time and will outline the investigation process. Any person/witness with information about the accident is encouraged to contact the ATSB on 1800 020 616 and will be put in touch with an…

A media conference discussing the factual information contained in the report and the progress of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Piper Chieftain fatal accident on 2 December 2005 will be held on, Tuesday 31 January 2006. Where: Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour SYDNEY (Rotor Tech 2006 - Hall 3 ATSB Booth No.2) Time: 15:00 (local time) Mr Alan Stray, Deputy Director, Aviation Safety Investigation will discuss the factual material contained in the report and progress of the investigation.

The ATSB has found that the third officer of the Panamanian tanker Port Arthur suffered a fracture of his cervical spine during a lifeboat drill on 20 October 2003. Three other crew in the lifeboat escaped serious injury when the boat fell 10 metres into Port Botany after its suspension hooks opened prematurely while it was being launched. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its investigation report into the accident which concludes that the lifeboat's on-load release hooks had not been correctly reset when the boat was last lowered. Lack of effective maintenance had…

On 21 March 2003 the port main engine of the Australian cargo ship Searoad Mersey failed catastrophically leaving the vessel disabled in Bass Strait. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its investigation report into the incident. At 1612 on 21 March 2003, the roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel Searoad Mersey departed from Melbourne on a scheduled service to Devonport in Tasmania. By 1924 the ship had cleared Point Lonsdale and was heading in a south-easterly direction in Bass Strait. At about 2118, the duty engineer received an engine room alarm and made his way to the…

An ICAO audit of the ATSB has reported high satisfaction with Australia's legislative, organisational and training framework for aircraft safety investigation and the professional and efficient conduct of the ATSB investigations reviewed in detail. The audit by the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was sought by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to ensure that the ATSB met international best practice for aviation accident and incident safety investigation. The ICAO audit team 'commended the positive and professional approach of the ATSB in proactively…

In a pro-active move to reduce the number of collisions between trading ships and commercial fishing vessels on the Australian coast, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an Australia-wide safety awareness campaign. The campaign is designed to raise the awareness of commercial fishermen to the contributory factors which the ATSB has identified during its investigation of 21 collisions between trading ships and fishing vessels since 1990 that have ongoing relevance. The aim of the campaign is to highlight some of the risks associated with fishing on the Australian coast.…

The ATSB investigation into the fatal Piper Seneca accident on 11 November 2003, at Bankstown Airport has found that the aircraft banked right and speared into the ground during a go-around manoeuvre. The aircraft was being operated on a multi-engine endorsement training flight with an instructor and student on board. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and the post-impact fire. The student was fatally injured in the accident and the instructor received severe burns and died three and a half weeks after the accident. The ATSB interim factual report finds that the engines were…

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been advised of a fatal aviation accident involving a Bell 206 Helicopter, VH-CSH, conducting locust control work, which occurred near Dubbo, New South Wales at about 2.30 local time today 22 November 2004. The Bureau has been advised that regrettably, two occupants of the helicopter suffered fatal injuries, and a third occupant was seriously injured. The ATSB will be conducting an on-site investigation. All media contact to be directed to the ATSB's central office, details below.