ATSB finds pilot pressure, maintenance issues factors in plane's Derby Highway crash
Australia's air safety watchdog has found fuel mismanagement by a pilot and a series of maintenance oversights contributed to a light plane's crash landing on a highway in far-north Western Australia.
The Cessna 310, operated by charter company Broome Aviation, was en route to Derby, 2,200 kilometres north of Perth, from Warmun, 600km east of the town, when it landed heavily on Derby Highway, 5km from the town's airport.
Startled motorists pulled over to avoid the plane and provided first aid to the seriously injured pilot and an unscathed passenger.
The pilot was later
The pilot broke every bone in their face after hitting the dashboard of the plane and the report noted they were not wearing an upper-torso restraint.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell described it as a "complex investigation."
"We did find some shortcomings in the training and the consolidation of pilots, but more worrying we found organisational pressures to not report maintenance," Mr Mitchell said.
"
There were a number of things stacked against the pilot on this day.
"
ATSB found the fuel gauges were inaccurate and defects were not rectified.
(
ABC News: Andy Seabourne
)
'Oppressive culture'
The bureau upgraded the scope of its investigation after its initial probe found other pilots at Broome Aviation raised concerns about maintenance, safety and an "oppressive culture."
"There was a number of maintenance issues that we found, and that went to one of our findings around the operator themselves not reporting aircraft defects on maintenance releases," Mr Mitchell said.
"And also the pressure that pilots had to keep flying the aircraft that they at times considered unsafe."
The charter plane was close to Derby Airport.
(
ABC Kimberley: Andrew Seabourne
)
The ATSB found the plane's fuel gauges were not indicating accurately and that fuel amounts in different tanks were not calculated correctly leading to "discrepancies".
The report found Broome Aviation's operations manual did not include a procedure for recording in-flight fuel calculations, leading pilots to adopt varying methods for fuel monitoring.
"All the underlying things that should be in place to keep operations like this safe — they weren't in place,"
Mr Mitchell said.
He said the operator had addressed the issues raised by ATSB and modified their processes as a result.
Broome Aviation has been contacted for comment.
ABC Kimberley — local news in your inbox
Get our local newsletter, delivered free each Tuesday
Your information is being handled in accordance with the
Email address
Subscribe
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
4 days ago
- West Australian
Fatal aircraft crash due to radio, visibility failures
Radio call failures and blocked visibility on two runways likely contributed to a mid-air light plane collision that killed two people, an aviation report has found. Former commercial pilot David Maddern and his wife Jan, both in their 60s, were killed when their Jabiru J430 collided midair with a Piper Pawnee glider tug aircraft on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in July 2023. The final Australian Transport Safety Bureau report found Mr Maddern's aircraft was unable to receive or transmit radio calls and trees blocked the view between two runways, saying it likely contributed to the crash. On the fateful morning, the Pawnee aircraft was returning to land at the non-controlled Caboolture aerodrome while Mr Maddern was preparing to depart from an intersecting runway. Pilots at Caboolture rely on making radio calls and visual cues - commonly called "alerted see-and-avoid" - to prevent crashes, safety bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said. The Pawnee was due to touch down but then a Cessna 172, piloted by a solo student, crossed the runway and was unaware of the other aircraft. This led the Pawnee to abort the landing by applying power to begin climbing back into the air while radioing other pilots about the decision. But at the same time, Mr Maddern's aircraft lifted off from the intersecting runway. Mr Maddern started a left turn trying to avoid the Pawnee but the two aircraft collided at 130 feet, the ATSB found. The Jabiru plunged to the ground, killing Mr Maddern and his wife Jan. The Pawnee remained flyable despite damage to its left wing and was landed safely by the uninjured pilot. The ATSB investigation found the Pawnee pilot had made multiple radio calls about their intention to land and the decision to abort but did not hear any from Mr Maddern. "Based on the Jabiru pilot's apparent unawareness of the Pawnee until just before the collision, and most witnesses not recalling hearing any calls from the Jabiru throughout the event, it is likely that the Jabiru pilot could not transmit or hear radio calls," Mr Mitchell said. "Because of this, and a stand of trees between the intersecting runways that blocked visibility between them, neither pilot was aware of the other aircraft." The ATSB ruled the aerodrome operator did not effectively manage or inform pilots about the risk of the trees or buildings on the runway that could impact visibility. Since the crash, the aerodrome has prohibited simultaneous runway operations and mandated take-off radio calls. The investigation also found that the regulatory guidance that pilots relied on when using non-controlled aerodromes did not clearly define what an "active runway" was. The chief regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, has decided to remove all references to the term "active runway" to prevent confusion. Mr Mitchell said the tragic accident highlights the risk of "see-and-avoid" strategies to prevent crashes. He urged pilots to mitigate the risks of the strategy by using two-way radio calls but also being mindful that communication can be missed or misinterpreted.
Perth Now
4 days ago
- Perth Now
Fatal aircraft crash due to radio, visibility failures
Radio call failures and blocked visibility on two runways likely contributed to a mid-air light plane collision that killed two people, an aviation report has found. Former commercial pilot David Maddern and his wife Jan, both in their 60s, were killed when their Jabiru J430 collided midair with a Piper Pawnee glider tug aircraft on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in July 2023. The final Australian Transport Safety Bureau report found Mr Maddern's aircraft was unable to receive or transmit radio calls and trees blocked the view between two runways, saying it likely contributed to the crash. On the fateful morning, the Pawnee aircraft was returning to land at the non-controlled Caboolture aerodrome while Mr Maddern was preparing to depart from an intersecting runway. Pilots at Caboolture rely on making radio calls and visual cues - commonly called "alerted see-and-avoid" - to prevent crashes, safety bureau Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said. The Pawnee was due to touch down but then a Cessna 172, piloted by a solo student, crossed the runway and was unaware of the other aircraft. This led the Pawnee to abort the landing by applying power to begin climbing back into the air while radioing other pilots about the decision. But at the same time, Mr Maddern's aircraft lifted off from the intersecting runway. Mr Maddern started a left turn trying to avoid the Pawnee but the two aircraft collided at 130 feet, the ATSB found. The Jabiru plunged to the ground, killing Mr Maddern and his wife Jan. The Pawnee remained flyable despite damage to its left wing and was landed safely by the uninjured pilot. The ATSB investigation found the Pawnee pilot had made multiple radio calls about their intention to land and the decision to abort but did not hear any from Mr Maddern. "Based on the Jabiru pilot's apparent unawareness of the Pawnee until just before the collision, and most witnesses not recalling hearing any calls from the Jabiru throughout the event, it is likely that the Jabiru pilot could not transmit or hear radio calls," Mr Mitchell said. "Because of this, and a stand of trees between the intersecting runways that blocked visibility between them, neither pilot was aware of the other aircraft." The ATSB ruled the aerodrome operator did not effectively manage or inform pilots about the risk of the trees or buildings on the runway that could impact visibility. Since the crash, the aerodrome has prohibited simultaneous runway operations and mandated take-off radio calls. The investigation also found that the regulatory guidance that pilots relied on when using non-controlled aerodromes did not clearly define what an "active runway" was. The chief regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, has decided to remove all references to the term "active runway" to prevent confusion. Mr Mitchell said the tragic accident highlights the risk of "see-and-avoid" strategies to prevent crashes. He urged pilots to mitigate the risks of the strategy by using two-way radio calls but also being mindful that communication can be missed or misinterpreted.
The Age
6 days ago
- The Age
From ‘storm in a teacup' to the sidelines for Hawks skipper; Pies confirm hamstring tear for star
'His groins are fine, his groins are fine … he is playing every week. There is no reason why his kicking has anything to do with his groins. His groins are fine,' Mitchell said last Wednesday. 'He kicked the ball reasonably well last week, I thought. I am really happy with how he is kicking. I can get you all the kicks that he has done that hardly anyone else in the competition can pull off, and he has done them over the last month. The kicking – that is a storm in a teacup. 'I am not concerned about his kicking.' Mitchell bristled when pressed further on Sicily last week. 'His groins are fine – he's playing every week, there's no reason that his kicking has anything to do with his groins,' he said. 'Go watch all of his kicks and tell me which ones you think he could do better. Bring me back, show me some vision, but I'm really happy with how he's kicking. 'I can get you all the kicks he's done, that hardly anyone in the competition can pull off, and he's done them over the last month. That's a storm in a teacup.' Hawthorn's head doctor said Sicily's injury was not significant enough to justify his omission before the Collingwood game. 'Unfortunately, James' injury has flared up post the Collingwood game on Friday night after showing improvement in the weeks prior,' the club's doctor Liam West said in a statement. 'Having played every game this season, we were always looking to give James an extended break around the bye, so we've decided to bring this forward.' Burge explained that the Hawks were already planning to give Sicily a rest for next Friday night's game against the Crows. 'But just in the last fortnight, we've just noticed that his strength numbers have come down a little bit, and we need them to come back up so we were going to take the opportunity into the bye to take next week off the table and have that fortnight to prepare him for post-bye,' Burge said. 'But we're now going to take this week as well. 'That'll take him out of the next two games and we'll have the bye as well to get some rehabilitation and get his strength numbers back up and get on top of this issue so we can get him back to full training and back to playing football.' The Hawks estimate key forward Mitch Lewis (knee) is still about three weeks from a return, while star onballer Will Day (foot) is still two to three months away. Lengthy rehab for Magpie Schultz Collingwood's Lachie Schultz will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury after the Magpies opted for a mid-season rehabilitation period for the small forward. In a statement on the club website on Tuesday, head of high-performance Jarrod Wade said the 27-year-old Schultz sustained a 'moderate' tear to the hamstring in his right leg in last Friday night's clash with the Hawks and the former Docker will be out of action for at least five weeks. The injury lay-off continues a turbulent 2025 season for the 117-gamer, who was concussed in an incident with Fremantle's Jordan Clark in round nine. Loading In further injury news for the Pies, Pat Lipinski is in concussion protocols after sustaining a head knock during the third term of the game against the Hawks, while key forward Dan McStay (knee) will return to full training this week ahead of the Pies' King's Birthday clash with Melbourne on Monday. Jordan De Goey and Brayden Maynard are still recovering from Achilles and plantar fascia injuries respectively.
