Whoops, more mischief at Skull Cave ?
Air watchdog linked to crash pilot
THE nation's air safety watchdog has been employing a company owned by a consultant who is in business with, and has worked for, the former chief pilot of the airline involved in Australia's worst civilian air crash in 40 years.
The relationship has distressed the relatives of the 15 people who died when Transair Flight 675 crashed into a ridge as it came in to land at Lockhart River in far north Queensland in 2005.
The Weekend Australian does not suggest any wrongdoing on the part of the consultant, Rob Collins, his company, Transair, or Les Wright arising from their relationship.
Last year, from January to April, Mr Collins, a former Civil Aviation Safety Authority safety expert, provided consultancies, through his Temba Pastoral company, to CASA.
Also early last year, Mr Collins was employed as a safety consultant by Papua New Guinea-based Trans Air Ltd, which is co-owned by Mr Wright, the former chief pilot and co-owner of the company that operated Flight 675.
Mr Wright was not the pilot of the plane but supervised and co-owned the airline involved in the crash.
Last month, Mr Collins and Mr Wright became co-directors and stakeholders in an unrelated private company, Paradise Meats Pty Ltd. Mr Collins has declined to elaborate what business Paradise Meats will be conducting.
Shane Urquhart, whose daughter Sally died in the Lockhart crash, yesterday called on CASA to look at its relationships with its consultants. Mr Collins this week declined to comment about his work as a consultant.
A CASA spokesman said: "CASA always takes appropriate steps to avoid . . . conflicts of interest when engaging consultants and contractors. These steps were taken when CASA engaged Mr Rob Collins' company."
Trans Air's hiring of Mr Collins proved useful when it successfully appealed against CASA's block on the charter operation getting a certificate to allow it to carry cargo and passengers along Queensland's northeast coast and to Darwin. CASA had blocked the original application on the grounds of Mr Wright's involvement with Trans Air and that the charter business had flown into Australia on medivac flights without getting permission from CASA.
Queensland Administrative Appeals Tribunal deputy president Philip Hack overturned the decision and ordered CASA to issue the certificate to Trans Air on the grounds that Mr Wright was only a line pilot with the operation and the operation was safe.
In his judgment, he made special note of evidence by Mr Collins who had been hired by Trans Air to undertake a review of safety and management systems at the operation over three days in late March and prepare a report.
"In the present context it is helpful to consider the work undertaken by Mr Collins in his examination of the systems of Trans Air, and the opinions that he has reached regarding the company's operations," Mr Hack said in the judgment. "Mr Collins has enormous experience in these matters. He was . . . a most impressive witness. His opinion is entitled to considerable weight."
Mr Hack said Mr Collins' affidavit had stated that "the staff, processes, work practices, facilities, and aircraft of Trans Air are compliant with statutory requirements and (it) demonstrates the capacity to comply with relevant Australian legislation".
Mr Hack also took into account Mr Collins' opinions about what should be made of the failures of the company Lessbrook, which ran the crashed airline and had been part owned by Mr Wright.
Mr Collins' evidence to the tribunal was that the operation was different from the company that ran the crashed airline.
"Mr Wright, as we currently have it, is not in control, and I think the devolution of control and proper governance of the organisation is enhanced by different people having different roles, which wasn't the case in Lessbrook," Mr Collins said.
Mr Collins told the AAT that Mr Wright "is a very good pilot, he's a very good trainer and checker, but I wouldn't regard him highly in terms of his managerial ability". Mr Hack said Mr Collins' evidence had satisfied him that Trans Air's operational structure and its key personnel were quite different from those of Lessbrook where Mr Wright himself performed many of the key roles.
The judgment, which was handed down on January 22, notes that Mr Collins worked for CASA for 16 years after originally working for Lessbrook in 1990.