The ATSB has found that the use of starboard instead of port helm led to the grounding of the Singapore registered woodchip carrier Crimson Mars in the River Tamar on 1 May 2006. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found that an unsuitable conning position, ineffective bridge resource management and the distraction caused by the use of a mobile telephone may have contributed to the helm being applied the wrong way. It was also found that inadequate monitoring of the helm orders and their execution led to the error not being detected in time to prevent the grounding. At 1400…

The ATSB has found that neither the harbour pilot nor the ship's crew adequately considered the ships speed or its movement in the prevailing conditions and this led to the Indian oil tanker Desh Rakshak grounding near Point Lonsdale. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found that the depth of water below the ship's keel was less than the bridge team had anticipated; and the Port Phillip Sea Pilots procedures did not give effective guidance to the pilot when deciding whether, or not, to pilot the ship from sea to the Melbourne outer anchorage in the prevailing conditions. It…

The ATSB has found that a lack of passage monitoring resulted in the Vanuatu registered offshore tug/supply ship Massive Tide grounding on Rosemary Island, off Dampier Western Australia, at 0445 on 29 August 2006. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation found that fatigue probably impaired the performance of both the master and the officer of the watch and that the officer of the watch did not adequately monitor the ships progress during the voyage from the jack-up drill rig Ensco 106 to Dampier on the morning of 29 August. At 0100 on 29 August, Massive Tide departed the drill…

The ATSB has found that a high-pressure oxygen system fire on board the roll-on/roll-off cargo ship Searoad Mersey, on 22 September 2006, occurred when an unsuitable replacement hose fitted to the system ignited. The ship's trainee engineer was hit in the head by the gas pressure regulator and received burns to his face, head and arms. At about 1540 on 22 September 2006, the trainee engineer was preparing the fixed oxy-acetylene system for a small hot-work job when two of the oxygen system's high-pressure hoses, and the oxygen regulator, exploded in a flash fire. It is probable that, when the…

The ATSB has found that insufficient train braking and inadequate warning distance contributed to a collision between a track mounted excavator and a freight train at Inverleigh, Victoria on 25 September 2006. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation established that the collision occurred because the train driver's initial brake applications approaching the work site were too little too late and that the outer flag person protecting the worksite was not positioned far enough away from the site given the anticipated train traffic, the line speed and the descending gradient. The…

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 ATSB has been successful in downloading key data from the flight data recorder (FDR) of the Garuda 737 accident aircraft but the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) has not yet been able to be downloaded. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is assisting the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) with Indonesias investigation into the factors which led to the accident in accordance with Annex 13 to the international Chicago Convention under which the Indonesian NTSC is in charge of the safety investigation and the ATSB is Australia's 'accredited representative'. In…

The ATSB has found that the self propelled accommodation platform Safe Concordia had been plagued by problems in its electrical systems since its construction and these problems had not been adequately addressed before the platform suffered two electrical fires in its propulsion system after entering Bass Strait in September 2005. Safe Concordia is a dynamic positioning, self propelled, semi-submersible accommodation platform that uses four electrically driven thrusters to maintain its position. The platforms construction and delivery trials were completed in March 2005. The platform was used…

The ATSBs final investigation report into the fatal crash of an R44 Helicopter west of the Gunpowder airstrip in Queensland on 21 February 2006 found that the operation of the helicopter at weights that did not allow for adequate performance in the high temperatures experienced in the area may have contributed to the development of the accident. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report states that the helicopter, with a pilot and three passengers on board was engaged in aerial survey operations between the Mt Gordon and Mt Kelly mines in northern Queensland. It was reported overdue at a…

Pilot and media personality Graeme (Shirley) Strachan was fatally injured when he lost control of the helicopter he was flying after it was damaged in severe mountain wave turbulence and crashed on the north-east slope of Mount Archer, Queensland on 29 August 2001. This was the main finding in the final accident report released today by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. "The extensive damage to the helicopter, severed tailboom and the location of parts on the ground, led transport safety investigators to conclude that the main rotor blade may have contacted the tailboom in flight," Air…