[Peetwo]

ATSB WOFTAM investigation AO-2018-075 - WTD?  

If Hoody is seeking to find some serious cred while the ANAO wet lettuce crew are hanging around I really have my doubts whether this one will do it... 

From Ironsider via the Oz: 

Snoozing pilot misses landing
The FlightAware data that shows how the pilot of a Piper PA-31 Navajo overflew its destination by 46km, before turning back.

• ROBYN IRONSIDE
  AVIATION WRITER
  @ironsider[img=0x0]https://i1.wp.com/pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/6e7c15929181150836944cea1b4d0979/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/broadsheet/components/article-author/widget&td_bio=false&td_location=none[/img]
  
• 1:22PM NOVEMBER 26, 2018
  

An investigation has been launched into an incident in which a pilot fell asleep during a one-hour charter flight, resulting in the aircraft overflying its destination by 46km.

The 6.21am Vortex Air flight from Devonport to King Island on November 8 ultimately landed safely despite the pilot’s mid-flight snooze.

FlightAware data shows the trip was the first of seven flown that day by the Piper PA-31 Navajo, which can carry up to nine passengers.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is treating the incident as a “pilot incapacitation” and a spokesman declined to provide any further details.

It is understood the ATSB made the decision to investigate after receiving more information about the flight.

As part of the investigation, the ATSB will interview the pilot and review operational procedures of Vortex Air.

The company’s managing director Colin Tucker refused to comment.

A final report on the incident is expected early next year

And from the ATSB website maze... 

The ATSB is investigating a pilot incapacitation involving a Piper PA-31, VH-TWU, operated by Vortex Air, near King Island Airport, Tasmania on 8 November 2018.

During the cruise, the pilot fell asleep resulting in the aircraft overflying King Island by 46km.

As part of the investigation, the ATSB will interview the pilot and review operational procedures.

A final report will be released at the conclusion of the investigation.
 

Hmm...maybe the HVH ATCB crew are trying to bump up their 'pilot incapacitation' stats ... 


Quote from ATSB website: https://www.atsb.gov.au/about_atsb/inves...dures/#fn1

...In addition, the ATSB has observed that many accidents involve repetition of past occurrences where the contributing factors are similar and the safety issues are well known...

The apples and oranges of AAI? 

So why is the ATSB investigating an incident, that from the outside looking in, has the simple conclusion that the pilot was tired and possibly fatigued? Shouldn't this be a straight forward case for the regulator to investigate?

Now compare that to the following disturbing article from the other Aunty yesterday...

Five bush pilot deaths within a month spur calls for improved training
ABC Broken Hill 
By Rhys Carman
Updated yesterday at 10:53am



PHOTO: The plane that crashed to the ground leaving two people seriously injured near Menindee. (Supplied: Barrier Police District)

A recent rash of fatal light aircraft crashes in far west New South Wales has led a former commercial airline pilot to call for more rigorous training for bush pilots.

Throughout October and November there have been four serious light aircraft crashes in regional New South Wales, leading to five deaths and putting two other people in hospital.

Four men died on the same day on late October, only hours apart, beginning with a gyrocopter crash in Orange killing two.

Three hours later, another light aircraft went down north of Wentworth in the state's far south-west killing 20-year-old Kayden Cullinan and 22-year-old Nicholas Walters.

On November 18, a 50-year-old man was killed when his aircraft crashed on a stretch of road on a property near Moree.

And on November 19, a plane crashed into the ground on a property near Menindee, 100 kilometres east of Broken Hill, seriously injuring a 53-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman.

They were flown to the Royal Adelaide Hospital and remain in serious but stable conditions.

Paul Martin, the general manager of livestock at large pastoral producer Webster Limited, was once an airline pilot with Virgin Australia, City Jet Air in France and QantasLink in Western Australia before settling in Outback NSW.

He said the spike in light aircraft crashes was taking its toll on the agricultural industry, when times were tough enough in the Outback with families battling the drought.

Mr Martin, who stressed that he was not commenting on the recent crashes, is calling for improved pilot training and safety.

"We've got to get really involved with the process of education and training. If we don't get this stuff sorted out, there's going to be more deaths," Mr Martin said.

"There will be more people killing themselves and tearing more small communities apart."

Mr Martin said he wants to see a program established to offer ongoing training to all people who fly light aircraft in regional Australia.

"These bi-annual flight review programs are not enough for those who are constantly engaged in low altitude operations," he said.

Mr Martin singled out gyrocopter pilots, who he said were not covered by the bi-annual flight review program that their fixed-wing compatriots must follow.

"The rotary wing pilots in the gyrocopters, they don't go through any training ever again for the rest of their lives. To me that's absolutely farcical," he said.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said he believed there was always room for more training when dealing with light aircraft.

"One of the hardest things when dealing with people in regional areas is the isolation and getting out to them to administer training where appropriate," he said.

"We are committed to keeping some of the highest standards of aircraft training in the world."



PHOTO: Gyrocopter pilots are not required to retrain throughout their career after obtaining their licence. (ABC News)

The type of work that people do in light aircraft on Outback properties is imperative to being productive on the land.

Bush pilots fly in dry, dusty conditions, and there are constant distractions and pressure to get the job done.

"Without the aircraft in the skies things would be so much harder out here, especially in these dry times," Mr Martin said.

"The water run on our property would take two days in a car. I can get it done in two hours flying around the property.

"So we have to improve our training and education. It's a must."

 
Surely the ATSB could mount a strong argument for instigating and committing resources to a systemic investigation into these spate of regional remote fatal accidents - 

Tweeting the above prompted an interesting response from Dr K from the Limerick University in Dublin, Ireland:

Five bush pilot deaths within a month spur plea for constant retraining https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-24/p...e/10550174 … via @ABCNews

---

Dr K I Kourousis
@K_Kourousis 

Need to check the details around these accidents; I am not sure if they investigated by ATSB or the RAA. Don't get why RAA is given the authority to investigate any accidents though.

And my response:

...Do you mean RAAus? If so RAAus are self-regulated see here: http://www.auntypru.com/forum/thread-37-...ml#pid9553 … & part I here: http://www.auntypru.com/forum/thread-116...ml#pid9567 … therefore RAAus will investigate all accidents/incidents of a/c registered under RAAus & depending on resources ATSB will investigate VH registered accidents...

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It would appear the crash at Wentworth near Mildura that killed 2 was a RAAus aircraft but the ATSB is providing technical assistance: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/inv...-2018-072/ … as for the gyrocopter fatal on the same day ATSB are again providing technical assistance: https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/inv...-2018-073/ …

---

Dr K for a really good review on how the RAAus self-administration (CASR Part 149) system works (or not) please refer to @aopaaustralia tweet here: https://twitter.com/aopaaustralia/status...4157247488 … one day the ATSB won't investigate aviation accidents at all, they'll just provide technical assistance...

And Dr K's response:

Exactly. Why's is there a need for two regulatory regimes? Why is RAAus regulated aircraft not subject to independent reviews (rather they are investigated by RAAus)? Technical assistance by ATSB is a different story.

Finally my reply:

"Why's is there a need for two regulatory regimes?" - Short answer is there isn't, except if your the Big R-regulator trying to marginalise sectors of the GA industry through division - see Part II here:http://www.auntypru.com/forum/thread-116...ml#pid9567 … or @aopaaustralia here:  https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/sea...nt=Default 

&..

As for the ATSB not investigating RAAus and/or most private pilot GA accidents/incidents, Australia have notified a difference to the ICAO Annex 13 SARPs - see here: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/...18-h44.pdf … under para 5.1.1 & 5.1.2: http://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip/...gation.pdf …

P2 QON - So the question is why do we persevere with the funding of the obviously conflicted, non-independent, CASA lapdog the ATSB? Why don't we simply just keep the technical lab expertise of the ATSB and in the process save the taxpayer millions? 

MTF...P2