The terminal accident was at Benalla where the pilot headed to a point about 8 miles away from the intended gps waypoint at the start of the approach. Very likely a faulty gps. It was IMC . The route monitor alarm went off many times in the en route ATC radar centre at Melbourne but because the pilot was heading towards un controlled airspace the controller did not inform the pilot. If it had been class E in the terminal area the pilot would have been informed. All five on board were killed with a CFIT accident and the subsequent ATSB report made no recommendation to consider upgrading the airspace to class E - such is the resistance to change.
We have many non tower airports in our busy airspace on the east coast where the radar coverage is as good as that provided in the USA. Yet not one non tower airspace has low level class E like the USA.
Grizzled. Yes Canada has it sorted out. Large areas without radar coverage yet low level class E in many terminal areas. I have flown extensively both IFR and VFR studying the airspace in Canada and the USA.
Some Australian ATCs come up with every reason why they can't offer a proper professional class E control service like North America . Mainly due to a total lack of wanting to know how a better system works and incompetent leadership.
We had one aircraft that crashed killing all five on board in solid radar coverage after going 50 miles at right angles to the correct direction.( see VH MDX report on the ATSB website ) The pilot was not told of his navigational error as he was forced under our rules to remain on a FS frequency .
Took me ten years of resistance to change to get all enroute traffic on radar frequencies . But now trying to get even one trial of low level class E before more fatalities.
Ferris. How do the rules vary and why wouldn't we copy those rules if they are proven safe?
Last edited by Dick Smith; 1st Apr 2016 at 00:27.