The Australian role in the official inquiry into the Airlines PNG crash that killed nine Australians on Tuesday as they were about to start the Kokoda Track walk is going to be incredibly difficult.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
ATSB reports make light of the real teeth-clenching risks
The ATSB is not there to give blunt warnings to the Australian public, but follow the softly spoken, evasively worded protocols.
Banned in Europe, Garuda still calls Australia home
Ongoing inquiries by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau make it clear that Garuda remained capable of being a menace to air safety in this country until at least 17 December last year, writes Ben Sandilands.
Oz Jet’s old and scary jets come under question
There are significant question marks over the use of old and scary jets by charter airline Oz Jet, writes Ben Sandilands.
Qantas gives new meaning to “bracket creep”
After giving 84 passengers a new meaning to the term “bracket creep”, exclusive images of the damage have fallen from a passing jet in front of Crikey Towers, writes Ben Sandilands.
QF2 power failure “less serious than first reported”. Really?
The once independent and fearless Australian Transport Safety Bureau has wimped its QF2 investigation, writes Ben Sandilands.
Qantas Boeing ‘wrinkled’ in hard landing in Darwin
Qantas is in damage control this morning trying to hide a Qantaslink Boeing 717 that was so severely damaged in a hard landing at Darwin last Thursday that it may be a write-off, writes Ben Sandilands.
Thai Air dive highlights the need for eyes in the tower
The merits of having manned control towers at the country’s mainline airports is illustrated in a preliminary report by the ATSB into an incident near Melbourne on 4 November last year, writes Ben Sandilands.
Cracks appear in Qantas truth shield?
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating multiple power failures in the QF2 incident at Bangkok not the single failure which Qantas said was caused by water flowing from a blocked galley drain through a cracked drip shield over the aircraft equivalent of a junction box, writes Ben Sandilands.
QF2 explanations way too cute
There is a strong buzz in Seattle and among sceptical pilots closer to home that something is too cute by far with the explanations as to why QF2 lost its main electrical system on approach to Bangkok last Monday, writes Ben Sandilands.
One engine gone, REX flies on to Sydney
The first acid test of the next Minister for Transport could involve REX and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, writes Ben Sandilands.
Air safety changes slipped in under caretaker cover
By complete coincidence or calculated timing, a lot is happening to air safety standards during the “caretaker mode” of government in the run-up to the election, writes Ben Sandilands.
Jetstar at Tulla, TAM at Sao Paulo. Spot the difference
An international A320 captain who has reviewed the preliminary Australian Transport Safety Bureau report into the botched Jetstar aborted landing at Melbourne Airport in July says there is one element in common with the disaster the same month when TAM crashed the same type of jet into a building after failing to stop on the runway at Sao Paulo Airport.
Fog continues to obscure Jetstar’s near miss
Fog continues to shroud the circumstances in which a Jetstar A320 narrowly missed hitting the ground during an aborted approach to Melbourne Airport on July 21, writes Ben Sandilands.
Qantas flight almost runs out of fuel, pilot fatigue a factor
An air safety investigation into a Qantas flight that had a “fuel event” while flying from Perth to Sydney on 11 August is looking closely at pilot fatigue as a factor, writes Ben Sandilands.
10 new reasons to read that card with the brace position
The volume of persistent and troubling air safety incidents in Australia is without precedent. It cannot be explained by growth alone, writes Ben Sandlilands.
Are we headed for a major airline crash in Australia?
The increased frequency of serious incidents makes this a legitimate question. There has never been such a proliferation of “near things” in Australian aviation, writes Ben Sandilands.
Jetstar near miss gets an independent inquiry … finally
The Phuket crash follows closely on the belated decision to hold an Australian inquiry into a bad weather incident involving a Jetstar flight that had a much happier ending.
Where is the inquiry into Jetstar’s aborted landing?
Jetstar’s explanations of how one of its jets came to within 20 feet of the ground during an aborted landing at Melbourne is in some doubt, writes Ben Sandilands.
CASA & Vaile let Jetstar probe Jetstar near miss
Only today will a full dossier on the latest Jetstar incident be delivered to the independent accident and incident investigator, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
“Mayday!” Qantas jet dices with ditching off Perth
As if a fake ground engineer and dodgy electrical repairs weren’t enough to rattle Qantas regulars, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has dropped an incident report which reminds the airline of the need to make sure its jets have enough fuel to reach Perth, writes Ben Sandilands.
