From the interim Report (my underlining):
The investigation is continuing and will include further examination and analysis of:- weather conditions at the time of the accident
- recovered radios from the aircraft
- recorded radar data, as well as recorded area frequency calls and recollections of CTAF radio broadcasts.
- pilot qualifications, experience and medical histories
- aircraft maintenance and operational records
- air traffic services actions, procedures and practices
- traffic density in and around Mangalore Airport
- classification of the airspace around Mangalore Airport
- Class G and CTAF operational and communication processes and procedures around Mangalore Airport
- visibility from both aircraft.
Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate and timely safety action can be taken.
Come on ATSB,
should a critical safety issue be identified - FOUR PEOPLE DIED!
Why is this not a safety problem when it could have been prevented with an airspace model and ATC services that were accepted by CASA back in the '90s?
Why was the Federal Government provider of ATS allowed to then argue with the regulator and have the plan overturned? (At a time when it was managing the FAA Pacific Towers that used exactly the separation services they were rejecting for Australia!)
Even the State Safety Programme starts off with complacency:
"Australia has an enviable record in aviation safety, among the best in the world, which has been built on a strong safety governance system, forged over many years."
That's OK then we don't really have to try any harder, do we?
I believe I could guarantee that if the two aircraft at Mangalore had been airliners, with or without passengers, then action would have been taken.
There is a better way, Minister! For the sake of a few dollars and a few more controllers, those four men need not have died.