Cockpit resource management failures kill people when they go wrong. They are a major cause of air disasters.
CASA
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.
Tiger facing a slow death … or a mercy killing
Tiger Airways has now been cornered, not just by CASA but its major investor Singapore Airlines.
Senate inquiry takes tougher approach on pilot training, safety
In lay language, the Senate inquiry into pilot training and airline safety has made a set of recommendations that would put Australia on the same page as American lawmakers in resisting the dangerous things desperate airlines have been doing to cut corners.
Airlines get mixed report card on volcanic ash
Today’s ash crisis for people flying in south-east Australia was not the surprise to the airlines that it may have appeared.
Revised airline safety laws … funny if it wasn’t so serious
A long overdue set of revised safety laws for aviation in general in Australia, released for comment by the end of the month by CASA, have some comical provisions.
CASA waves a yellow card at Tiger … no threat of red yet
Passengers recently bought tickets on Tiger Airways flights unaware that CASA had refused to allow it to expand its small fleet in Australia until it responded to a show cause notice.
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.
Qantaslink concerns sent to Senate Inquiry
Serious deficiencies in Qantaslink are understood to have been drawn to the attention of the forthcoming Senate Inquiry into pilot training and standards, including an extraordinary disclosure that ought to cause alarm for Qantas and safety regular CASA, writes Ben Sendilands.
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.
Flawed report gave warning signs on Trans Air failures
The Milne Bay crash that killed three Australians and a New Zealander in PNG on Tuesday has also exposed serious concerns about CASA’s handling of Trans Air’s operations.
QantasLink near miss — air safety reports need transparency
The ATSB released a damning report into an astonishingly unsafe approach to Sydney Airport by a QantasLink turbo-prop. There is no effective accountability in air safety reporting in this country.
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.
Tips and rumours: Tips and rumours: Hello! to all of Rupert’s friends
Check out the front cover of London’s Hello! magazine with all the gorgeous people present. Which one of Rupert’s favourite pals was there but demanded all signs of their presence be removed?
Oz aviation keeps rolling the dice on air safety
The US Federal Aviation Administration audit of airline safety oversight in Australia hasn’t gone smoothly, and could see this country downgraded to the same untrustworthy category as parts of the third world.
ATSB report damns Jetstar pilot training
A fierce report from Australia’s air safety investigator has finally slammed Jetstar’s pilot training, following an incompetent and dangerously bungled landing at Tullamarine Airport several years ago.
Pel-Air inquiry shrouded in secrecy
The CASA investigation into the Pel-Air incident last year has been shrouded in secrecy, despite the regulator indefinitely suspending the pilot licence of the captain who flew the Westwind jet.
CASA must act now to prosecute over Pel-Air crash
The pilot of the Pel-Air Westwind that crashed off Norfolk Island on Wednesday apparently took off with inadequate fuel supplies. He, and his airline, must be prosecuted.
Credibility of Qantas on line over “unusual vibrations” aka a flaming engine
The scorched engine at the centre of the latest allegations about safety standards at Qantas is now being examined by the independent air safety investigator, and the credibility of two unions, the airline’s management and the air safety regulation enforce are all on the line.
Safety screwed over wrong washer
The aircraft engineers union is pursuing claims that Qantas avoided a detailed safety investigation of a 747 last year, which could have caused some of its engines to fall off in flight.
Memo CASA chief: an uncritical media is not your friend
The underlying managerial culture of modern enterprises is to push productivity to within a millimetre of breaking the people or the equipment, and to lift output year in year out. Unfortunately in the airline game, that can kill hundreds of people at once.
CASA, Qantas and the documents they don’t want you to see
CASA is confident about Qantas safety, but if that’s the case, show us the documents.
Plan to cut cabin crew ratios sneaks under the radar
A CASA working party is considering a submission to reduce the number of cabin crew on Australian airline services as a cost cutting method. However, this is a safety issue.
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?
