Ben Sandiland and ATSB's (shock horror!
) latest update:
Virgin Mildura fog update: This is getting interesting
The ATSB has launched a thorough professional inquiry into a serious Virgin Australia incident at Mildura, in sharp contrast to its disgraceful conduct in relation to the Pel-Air ditching near Norfolk Island in 2009.
The ATSB has updated its advice on the Virgin Australia landing at Mildura in fog conditions that didn’t meet the minimums acceptable under the rules for low visibility operations.
It has probably begun reading and analysing the data and cockpit conversations it retrieved from the 737′s voice and data recorders.
At about 1015 EST on 18 June 2013 air traffic control advised the ATSB of a fuel related occurrence involving a Boeing 737-8FE (B737), registered VH-YIR, at Mildura Airport, Victoria. The aircraft, operated by Virgin Australia, was en route from Brisbane, Queensland, to Adelaide, South Australia, with five crew and 86 passengers on board when the crew diverted the aircraft to Mildura.
The aircraft had departed Brisbane at about 0630 that morning and carried sufficient fuel for the flight to Adelaide. On the basis of the weather forecasts at the time the aircraft departed Brisbane, there was no requirement to provide for an alternate airport to Adelaide. As the aircraft approached Adelaide, fog reduced the visibility at the airport to below the minimum required for landing. The crew diverted to Mildura and the aircraft landed safely at Mildura Airport at about 1010 following two instrument approaches.
The fog at Adelaide was not forecast when the aircraft left Brisbane. A number of other aircraft, in addition to the B737, returned to their departure airports or diverted to alternate airports as a result of the reduced visibility at Adelaide Airport.
The ATSB commenced an investigation at about 1100 on 18 June 2013 and the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were removed from the aircraft and forwarded to the ATSB’s facilities in Canberra for download. The investigation is continuing and will involve:
· examination of the recorded information
· interviews with the flight crew of this and other affected aircraft
· examination of the operator’s procedures
· review of the relevant radio and radar data
· examination of the relevant weather observations and forecasts.
It is anticipated that the investigation will be completed in March 2014.
It is clear that this is going to be a detailed consideration of all of the factors that caused an Australian airliner’s pilots to instruct passengers to adopt the crash landing brace position and then land at a fog bound airport under circumstances where they were left with no alternative but to set down.
In the background there is another question hanging in the air, which is whether Australia’s current regulations concerning the fueling of passenger flights are truly safe and adequate, or need to be reviewed and improved.
The contrast between this inquiry and the disgraceful conduct of the ATSB in relation to the Pel-Air ditching near Norfolk Island in 2009 is painfully obvious.
In that crash the data recorder from the jet was not recovered by the ATSB, but is probably well preserved at an easily recoverable depth.
Not only did the ATSB fail to recover such vital data, it failed to canvas the fueling policies of the operator, and acted in association with CASA the safety regulator, to unfairly frame all blame on the pilot while discounting evidence that CASA failed to perform its duties of oversight, and Pel-Air failed to meet the requirements of Australian safety rules.
Clearly the ATSB has found its charter and its professionalism in the Mildura fog incident. This incident has important safety ramifications for Australian mainline airlines and their passengers. Unlike the Norfolk Island disgrace, in which the ATSB although aware of the fact that none of the safety equipment on the Pel-Air jet worked as intended in a ditching, ignored its international obligation to make findings and recommendations concerning that aspect of the ditching to the world wide aviation community.
Now that the ATSB has got its head back into gear when it comes to safety inquiries, perhaps it might deign to consider the findings of the Senate committee that inquired into its conduct in relation to Pel-Air before it holds its regular board meeting on 24 July.
Perhaps the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Anthony Albanese, might also instruct the ATSB to re-open its Pel-Air inquiry, and do its job with the same thoroughness and fairness that it seems to be bringing to bear on the Virgin Australia incident.
Yes, time is running short Minister. It would be a pity to leave the Pel-Air scandal festering away while the ATSB adopts a different, and apparently totally professional approach to the conduct of the Virgin flight that ended up in Mildura in a pea-souper, rather than in the soup, like Pel-Air.
Hmm so will everything investigated by the bureau from now on always be benchmarked against the Norfolk ditching report??
Q/ I wonder if the bureau investigators have noticed a 'Critical Safety Issue' already? If so I wonder if Beaker will be game (or not) to promulgate an official 'Safety Recommendation'? As Ben said
.."This is getting interesting"...