Between January 1979 and May 1993, 35 aircraft accidents occurred in Australia during the take-off phase of flight at night. A primary factor in 15 of these accidents was considered to be some form of visual or sensory illusion, or spatial disorientation. Investigation files from the 15 accidents were reviewed in an attempt to identify common elements in which spatial disorientation, or a visual or sensory illusion, was thought to be a contributing factor. Data were gathered on pilot characteristics, such as experience and age, as well as on operational information, such as aerodrome type…

One of the most significant factors in the formulation of safe flying habits and good airmanship is the quality of ab-initio flying training. It is therefore important for anyone involved in ab-initio training to receive adequate guidance on the required syllabus and the methods of teaching. In recent years, the Australian flying training industry has been through a large number of changes, with some arising from the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) implementation of a new 'Day-VFR syllabus, and others arising from major changes in the Australian aviation industry. While change has become a…

Maintenance constitutes a significant and rising cost to the airline industry. In the USA, maintenance costs are increasing as a proportion of airline operating costs. In 1989 maintenance constituted 11 -8% of US airline operating costs or greater than US$S billion per year (Shepherd 1991). The annual cost to the Australian airline industry is likely to be in the order of A$500 million per year.

During 1992 and 1993 there was an increase in the frequency of reported occurrences involving co-ordination between Australian and Indonesian ATS. Although some involved aircraft travelling from Australia to Indonesia, the majority (92%) involved aircraft travelling from Indonesian airspace into the Australian FIR. The CAA Australia and the Indonesia Directorate General of Air Communications are signatories on a LOA between the two countries. This LOA supplements ICAO documents in respect to separation standards and co-ordination procedures and is - updated periodically. The latest update was…

The regional airline industry is an integral part of the Australian air transport system, and is particularly important in rural and remote areas. The industry has a major role in supplementing the high capacity airlines and providing feeder services into the capital cities. The accident rate for regional airlines has remained relatively stable since 1990, although it is higher than the rate for high capacity air transport. Partly as a result of a small number of highly publicised fatal accidents involving regional airlines, there has been considerable debate about safety standards within…

On 24 December 1995 an Australian ibis was ingested into the engine of an Airbus A300 on takeoff from Coolangatta Airport. The damage to the engine was extensive. Bird strikes are a continual hazard for aircraft operations, particularly during the take-off and landing phases. The Bureau's database contains the birdstrike reports shown in appendix 1, tables IA, 1 B and 1 C for the years 1993, 1994 and 1995. It should be noted that the requirement for reporting birdstrike occurrences which did not involve aircraft damage was terminated in 1991. Prior to 1991 all bird-strike occurrences were…

The carriage of traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) equipment is not mandatory in Australian aircraft. However, many Australian and foreign registered aircraft operating in Australian controlled airspace are equipped with TCAS because of their compliance with a US requirement when operating in American airspace. A total of 157 TCAS-related air safety occurrences were reported in Australian airspace during 1993 and 1994. The circumstances of these events, and the views of the pilots and air traffic controllers involved in the occurrences, were examined in detail. Early versions of TCAS…

In December 1995, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure (HORSCOTCI) published its "Plane Safe" report, an inquiry into safety in the general aviation and commuter sectors of the aviation industry. Recommendation (e) of the report was that: "the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation prepare and publish safety indicators;" In response to that recommendation this report has been produced jointly by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) and the…

Aviation Safety Indicators (ASI) was first published in December 1996 as a response to the recommendation to '...prepare and publish safety indicators' contained in the 'Plane Safe' report issued by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Transport, Communications and Infrastructure. AS1 is produced jointly by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation and the Department of Transport and Regional Development. The first report brought together a wide range of data, primarily for the decade from 1986 to 1995, which set benchmarks for on-going…

Changes to the airspace management system which were introduced on the 12th of December 1991, firmly established the responsibility with the pilot for aircraft collision avoidance outside controlled airspace, and for avoiding penetration of controlled airspace. In doing so it was a radical modification to the Australian Air Traffic Services (AS) system. In view of significance of the changes, the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) undertook an evaluation. This evaluation took the form of the investigation of all occurrences which were deemed to be related to the AMATS changes in a four…