On 19th February 2020 the above mid-air collision occurred. In two weeks it will be the second anniversary of the deaths of those four airmen.
While the TSI Act requires reports to be published as soon as practicable, ICAO Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation "Aircraft Accident and Investigation Manual" has an additional stipulation:
6.6 Recommendation.— The State conducting the investigation should release the Final Report in the shortest possible
time and, if possible, within twelve months of the date of the occurrence. If the report cannot be released within twelve months,
the State conducting the investigation should release an interim report on each anniversary of the occurrence, detailing the
progress of the investigation and any safety issues raised.
It is difficult to know why ATSB ignores Annex 13, or why they are taking so long to reach their conclusions, however.....
Since, there have been three other similar incidents at Mangalore and Ballina :
- 28 Nov 2020 A0-2020-62 / Ballina between a Jetstar A320 and a Jabiru
- 6 Jun 2021 A0-2021-023 / Mangalore, a PA 44 doing practise instrument approaches and a passing AW139 helicopter
- 16 Sep 2021 A0-2021-038 / Ballina, Virgin 737, Jetstar A320 and a C-208
How long do we have to wait?