Have been monitoring much of the MSM press coming out of the AirAsia disaster - most is simply indifferent regurgitation after regurgitation; some is really bad and irresponsible; while a very small % is good factual & enlightening journalism.
examples that also have - obvious & not so obvious - Australian connections for which we should be very proud...
From all reports in recent days - on the AirAsia SAR mission - the Indonesian's BASARNAS has coordinated and performed exceptionally well in extremely difficult circumstances. This is in direct contrast to the way the Malaysians oversaw the first critical days of the MH370 SAR effort:
..Everyone remembers the information chaos that ensued right after Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 went missing, and again when MH17 was shot down by a missile. It was disarray with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and the acting Transport Minister scrambling to get the facts out to the media and the public...
It should be noted that at one time most of the problems that beset the Malaysians SAR effort for MH370 would have been almost perfectly duplicated by the Indonesians. Many would say that BASARNAS has become a hell of lot more of an effective agency - in co-ordinating SAR missions - since their association with Australia's AMSA under the
Indonesia Transport Safety Assistance Package (ITSAP).
Included in the ITSAP program is a relationship between the ATSB and the Indonesian's AAI the NTSC:
The main elements of the ATSB's contribution to ITSAP are to deliver training and support for investigators from the ASTB's Indonesian counterpart agency, the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC). This includes the ATSB providing staff dedicated to various capacity building projects, funding ATSB training courses in Indonesia and Australia, and opportunities for aviation, marine, and rail investigators to work with their ATSB counterparts for extended periods.
It should also not be forgotten that for a long time the person responsible for overseeing this mentoring program was none other than Alan Stray, who for his exemplary efforts was awarded a
Public Service Medal by the former GG Dame Quentin Bryce (reference:
Sunday cogitation - A Stray thought or two.).
Therefore much like the current efficient, full & frank, transparent activities of BASARNAS I expect that the NTSC will conduct the AirAsia flight QZ8501 investigation in much the same manner...
And given the apparent similarities/parallels (so far) to the AF447 disaster there will be much to be learnt from the NTSC final report that ironically could possibly cause political reverberations internationally & back here in Oz...
Which brings me to the 2nd article - Quote 1:
The might of human ingenuity and technology has focused on reducing aviation's dangers to virtually nothing. But still, according to industry consultant Gerry Soejatman, risks exist.
"As comfortable as we are, and as safe as the statistics are, flying is inherently risky," Soejatman says.
"We rely on the training and the safety systems that have been developed over the years; that's what makes it safe ... and it is safe. But if we are careless, we have to remind ourselves that it is dangerous to fly."
Parts of that sound very familiar to the ToR in a certain Senate inquiry that was titled
"Pilot training...blah..blah..
Quote 2 - the PelAir irony:
The immediate task for Indonesian investigators will be to retrieve the vital flight-data recorders from what remains on the sea floor of the Karimata Strait. The "black box" – which is actually brightly coloured for visibility – will play a key role.
The plane lies in relatively shallow water of about 50 metres, a far less onerous recovery task than the one confronting authorities searching deep water for Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.
The AirAsia A320's cockpit voice recorder will contain up to two hours of recordings, which will allow investigators to listen to QZ8501's 53-year-old Captain Iriyanto and first officer, Frenchman Remi Emmanuel Plesel.
But it is the flight data recorder that holds a larger wealth of information, with up to 72 hours of flight time information about the plane's engine settings, air speed, positions of flight control and altitude.
Investigators already have information from air-traffic control such as voice and radar recordings – particularly from the Mode S transponder system – as well as the weather on the day of the crash from meteorologists.
"The key will be to find those recorders, download them and then see what they tell you. They effectively guide the investigation," Australian Transport Safety Bureau spokesman Joe Hattley says.
"You don't know where you are going until you get good data."
What's this..
..another official ATSB spokesman - other than Bea-Cur - who dares to state the bleeding obvious on the subject of the importance of recovering the CVR/FDR...
But then it happens again...
.. someone from the ATSB (other than Bea-Cur
) who dares to speak and possibly have an opinion...
:
"You have to be a very big airline to survive an accident," ATSB spokesman Stuart Godley says. "Any significant accident has bankrupted most airlines, and it is really only the big airlines that have survived."
All very passing strange & definitely MTF...
I'll be back...
Ps Choccy frogs and a goldstar to the Fairfax crew...
