There is a clear inference of conspiracy between the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the federal government to hush-up a serious near miss between airliners in Australian airspace.
Air safety
WikiLeaks cable points the finger at air-safety body
Among the latest WikiLeaks cables out of the US Embassy in Canberra is one that blows away the myth making about how superbly CASA was regulating air safety in Australia, at least until the current overhaul took hold under a new director of safety.
Tiger likely to get new boss, new name
Tiger Airways will have a new Australian CEO within about a month, and possibly a new name to go with it.
Phony war over volcanic ash safety policies between Virgin and Qantas/Jetstar
It could be as much as another week before the ash plumes from the Puyehue eruption in Chile have dispersed to altitudes and concentrations where they pose no risk to flights.
Who’s right in the great volcanic ash safety debate?
On the third full day of havoc resulting from clouds of volcanic ash from a Chilean eruption being blown into Australian and New Zealand airspace it remains Qantas versus everyone else (even the RAAF) when it comes to its insistence on grounding any flights.
The ‘extraordinary evidence’ in Jetstar near-miss probe
The pilot union AIPA has called on the federal government to pursue an apparent attempt to interfere with the evidence two Jetstar pilots were giving about a near crash.
Players say our air-safety standards are good enough
The management mindset that risks the lives of hundreds of Australian air travellers in a crash in the next 10 years is abundantly on display in carrier and regulator submissions to the Senate inquiry into pilot training and airline safety.
Flight crew training: a last-ditch stand between old and new
A Senate inquiry into airline flight crew training and standards in Australia has turned into a last-ditch stand by “the old Qantas” culture against “the new” Jetstar culture.
Pilot association on the attack over P-plater fly boys
A scathing attack on the management cultures of Australia’s airlines has been made in a pilot association statement to key Senators in advance of a Senate inquiry into pilot training and standards.
With 177 on board, trainee pilot fluffs landing at Gold Coast
A training incident involving an inexperienced pilot and 177 Jetstar passengers at the Gold Coast Airport on May 30 is expected to come under scrutiny at the imminent Senate Inquiry into pilot training and standards.
Xenophon puts pilot training, safety standards on the table
Concerns about Qantaslink safety standards and ATSB and CASA secrecy are landing on the desk of independent SA Senator Nick Xenophon.
Light plane crash focus misplaced by the media
There has been more ATSB media about the light aircraft crash in suburban Sydney than incidents involving much larger scheduled airliners. Why? What will be done to make general aviation airports safer?
Serious questions over safety oversight at Qantas
Last night’s 747 turnback to Sydney airport was an inconvenient non-event for passengers. But this is not true of another area of doubt at Qantas — safety oversight and record keeping.
France calls for airlines blacklist. Hypocritical non?
For chauvinism in air transport an award should be given to French Secretary of State for transport Dominique Bussereau who called for a global blacklist of unsafe airlines this week. Um, Air France anyone?
Union had better back big safety claims against Qantas
Did Qantas last June allow a Boeing 767 which had experienced severe turbulence before landing at Cairns continue its journey without completing all of the mandatory inspections required?
So you survived a plane crash — now what?
Stay put. The biggest mistake stranded victims make is trying to swim. Body heat naturally creates a warm envelope of water around your person.
First report on AF447 disaster lands
The preliminary report into the AF447 mid-Atlantic crash says the jet didn’t break apart before it hit the sea, writes Ben Sandilands.
Airbus scrutiny required (not for the reasons you think)
The Yemenia Air crash and the Air France disaster have nothing in common (despite their Airbus link), but there are good reasons for continued scrutiny of the modern A330 design involved in the AF447 disaster.
Airbusophobia alive and well after Yemeni air disaster
The crash of a Yemenia Airbus A310 had all the classic early jet age prerequisites for an air disaster, writes Ben Sandilands. Any links to the Air France Airbus mid-Atlantic crash are dubious.
Airlines, the Senate and the transfer of criminal responsibility
A back door attempt to water down the absolute responsibility of airlines for the actions of their employees and criminalise pilots has been blocked in the Senate.
Mapping the AF447 debris
The French accident investigator has released a map of of the wreckage and victims recovered from AF447. It shows the scale of the task still ahead, says Ben Sandilands.
AF447: what we know so far
If a reasonable guess is to made about what was happening on AF447 that night, it was that the jet was flying at perhaps the worst possible speed into a storm cell. Ben Sandilands explains.
Emirates near miss reveals problems on the ground
Brain fade or incompetency at Melbourne Airport compromised border security and passenger welfare after the Emirates accident involving flight EK407 on 20 March.
AF447’s critical tail parts found
The recovery of a large part of the Air France A330-200’s tail from the mid-Atlantic crash site is of critical importance in determining the sequence of events that caused the disaster.
Qantas rules out its own AF447 risk
The Australian airline says it is unaffected by the pitot probe issues that are being implicated in the AF447 Airbus crash in the mid Atlantic, writes Ben Sandilands.
