Media Release
The ATSB has found it is likely that some passive level crossings in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia that are controlled by 'Stop' signs and are used by high combined gross mass road vehicles may have deficient sighting distances.
The ATSB has released a 500-page final report into Australia's worst civil aviation accident since 1968.
An ATSB report released today shows that the average age of many
aircraft in Australia is increasing but that this should not reduce
safety if quality maintenance systems are in place.
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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
