[Peetwo]

ATSB with very little spin & bugger all horse-pooh??

Have you ever noticed how the ATSB gets very short, sharp & to the point, when there is the potential for political fallout from a reported serious incident - No?? Well here is a classic example, that at this stage the whole of the MSM has totally missed and that had the potential for raining metal on middle suburbia Melbourne:

Loss of separation involving Boeing 737, VH-YFN and VH-VZV and Robinson R44, VH-WYR near Essendon Airport, Victoria, on 26 January 2016

 
Investigation number: AO-2016-005
Investigation status: Active
 

General details
Date:
26 Jan 2016
 
Investigation status:
Active
 
Time:
07:01 ESuT
 
Investigation type:
Occurrence Investigation
 
Location   (show map):
Essendon Airport west 5 km
 
Occurrence type:
Breakdown of co-ordination
 
State:
VIC
 
Occurrence class:
Airspace
 
Occurrence category:
Incident
 
Report status:
Pending
 
Highest injury level:
None
 
Expected completion:
Sep 2016 

 


Last update 27 January 2016

See what I mean, such economy of words is pure genius i.e. 'nothing to see here move along'
However this supposedly 'non-event' did not get past the scrutiny of Ben Sandilands...

Traffic chopper, Qantas, Virgin 737s get too close over Melbourne

Ben Sandilands | Jan 27, 2016 10:07PM |

A company photo of a Robinson R44

Australia Day could have started (and ended) badly for two passenger jets with more than 300 seats and a traffic chopper near Melbourne airport on Tuesday.

According to the ATSB notification, a Qantas and a Virgin Australia 737 and the Robinson 44 helicopter were involved in a ‘loss of separation’ and a ‘breakdown of coordination’  while ‘near Essendon Airport’ at one minute past seven am on the morning of the special national day of celebration.

Not only that, but the very brief ATSB entry describes the location as five kilometres west of Essendon Airport, which is very close to the big one, Melbourne Airport, which even the most obtuse bureaucrats fearful of causing public alarm would know was the facility 99.99 percent most likely to be being used by two Australian airliners with a total body seat and crew count of around 350 people if full.

Putting aside the skills of the ATSB in attempting to say almost nothing that will excite media attention ever about anything, this is a curious incident to say the least.

The helicopter in question is on the aircraft register in Australia as one of four of the type operated by The Australian Traffic Network Pty Ltd, which according to its website claims “100 percent  of metro commercial radio stations” in the nation, as well as having a high presence on TV networks.

Which will be news to those of us who though the gripping live accounts of gridlock from the ‘Channel X news chopper, brought to you by X law firm specialising in workplace injury claims’ or whatever, was actually their helicopter. But we may be missing something.

The main thing, without prejudice to any party, is that helicopters getting too close to passenger jets, or vice versa,  over any part of suburban Australia is of even bigger concern than a truck breaking down in a critical part of a motorway at peak hour and by a huge margin.

It might even be sufficiently newsworthy to be reported by one of the commercial radio or TV networks, especially if the  ‘traffic news helicopter’ or Boeing 737, is brought down on a highway, or housing estate, near you, courtesy of whomever.

This sounds like another exciting ATSB report in the making, if we are patient and vigilant.

 
Pure gold Ben - Luv it
MTF...P2