[Peetwo]

 The Hollow Man...err..Muppet 

Dear miniscule..it has come to my attention that the Chief Muppet, of our once esteemed aviation safety watchdog, is taking the Mickey Bliss on your watch, see here - Overdue & Obfuscated #post14  - or here...

Dear Dreary,

I so dearly would have liked to have passed comment on your latest blog post but alas for some passing strange reason my IP address is red flagged from your site?? Maybe it is a glitch, or maybe not. However as I know that you have a minion monitoring Aunty Pru, I therefore surmise there is a reasonable probability that you will receive my comment in due course. So here goes, with a query that has recently been troubling me... Confused  

Maybe I have missed something but back on 24 April, in an article by Steve Creedy in the Oz (CASA must consider cost of regulation: Warren Truss), your ultimate boss (i.e. the miniscule) told Steve C...

"..Mr Truss told The Australian the CASA letter and a similar statement of expectations sent to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau fulfilled a promise arising from the Forsyth Review.."

...yet when I went to view your boss's SOE on the (unlike the TSBC website.. Wink ) convoluted, non-user friendly ATSB website, the relevant page was (& still is) yet to be updated:
 
So Dreary my query is..where is the miniscule's new SOE addressed to your agency, cause buggered if I can find it, or in the words of former member of Parliament Pauline Hansen...

"Please explain??" Huh

 
Benefit of the doubt & all that, I thought maybe the CM is working on his 'Statement of Intent'  & will make your much anticipated SOE publicly available at the same time (i.e. on the 'technically correct' day, 01 July 2015). Sadly on reviewing the applicable page this does not seem to be the case:

Minister's expectations


Minister's Statement of Expectations

• Statement of Expectations
  A brief overview and Minister's Expectations and the ATSB's Statement of Intent.
  

 
Statement of Intent

• Statement of Intent
  This Statement of Intent describes the ATSB's functions and approach and outlines priorities which will form the basis for the ATSB's business and resource allocations. Those priorities and related key business outputs are consistent with the Minister's expectations and broader Government policy in the area of transport safety.
  

Last update 31 January 2014

   
Why you never took the chance to dismiss the CM back when you first took over the reins is beyond my politically naïve comprehension, God knows you had (& still have) much evidence of incompetence & complicity in the PelAir cover-up scandal. However to let this individual get away with thumbing his nose at your authority once again, would quite frankly be the ultimate insult to your long career in public servitude.

----Yours P2  

Well here we are more than a week later & the ATSB is still yet to publish the miniscule's SOE and/or their statement of intent?? Oh well I guess Beaker is not on his own in thumbing his nose at the miniscule & government wishes/policies, take a look at Skid-Mark's latest remarks in regards the CVDPA; see here - http://auntypru.com/forum/-CASA-meets-th...96#pid1296

Again for the record - "WAKE UP MINISCULE"...FCOL    

Moving on I note the ATSB have been receiving some reasonable Press in recent days, from the other Aunty:

Jandakot Airport in Perth under investigation for high number of near-collisions

By Jacob Kagi
Posted Tue at 7:21amTue 7 Jul 2015, 7:21am

Photo: The ATSB says between 2013 and 2015 the near-collision rate at Jandakot Airport was three times higher than other similar airports.

A "disproportionate" rate of aircraft near-collisions at Jandakot Airport in Perth, at least three times higher than at other similar facilities, is being investigated.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it had identified Jandakot, a general aviation facility in Perth's south, as having a much higher near-collision rate than other similar airports since 2013.

As a result, the ATSB said it had launched an investigation to "identify the factors that increase the collision risk to aircraft operating at Jandakot Airport".

As part of that investigation, the ATSB said it would examine several of the most recent incidents for common features and review the characteristics of the facility compared to other similar airports.

Air traffic controllers and pilots involved in recent incidents at the airport will be interviewed, while other regular users will also be spoken to by the ATSB.

The investigation, which was launched late last month, is expected to be completed by February.

"Between 2013 and 2015 Jandakot Airport had a near-collision rate that was at least three times higher than other similar metropolitan Class D airports across Australia," the ATSB said in a statement on its website.

In 2014, Jandakot was the second busiest airport in Australia by total aircraft movements with more than 250,000.

The only facility with more aircraft movements was Sydney, which had more than 330,000.

Jandakot is used as a base by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and numerous other Government agencies.

It is also used extensively by recreational pilots and other light aircraft.

 
And also here on PM:

Safety authorities launch investigation into near misses at Perth's Jandakot Airport

Lucy Martin reported this story on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 18:30:00
Listen to MP3 of this story ( minutes)
| MP3 download

MARK COLVIN: Why is there a higher than usual rate of near misses at Perth's Jandakot Airport?

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says Jandakot has three times as many near-collisions as other facilities with similar traffic.

Jandakot is a general aviation airport, meaning mostly smaller planes, not airliners, and some pilots have started worrying about the risks.

Now the safety authorities are going to inquire into whether language barriers between air traffic controllers and some trainee pilots could be a factor.

Lucy Martin reports.

LUCY MARTIN: With more than 250,000 aircraft movements last year, Perth's Jandakot airport is the second busiest in Australia.

There's been 20 near misses at the airport in the last 2.5 years, a rate three times higher than similar-sized airports in the eastern states.

Stuart Godley is from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

STUART GODLEY: What we're finding is a lot of these incidents are actually involving at least one aircraft that are from a flying school. And most of their traffic do actually involve flying schools. Although you've got an instructor on board most of the time, you are dealing with students who are fairly new to flying.

LUCY MARTIN: Tim Cooper has held his private pilot license for nine years.

He told ABC local radio he's not comfortable using Jandakot airport.

TIM COOPER: I'm always very nervous in flying in Jandakot airspace. In fact we've upgraded our plane software to include a thing called 'traffic'. The software picks up other aircraft as long as they have a transponder. I no longer feel safe without it.

LUCY MARTIN: Mr Cooper says Jandakot is an incredibly busy facility that shares limited airspace with the nearby Perth airport.

The airport also plays host to flying schools for China Southern and Singapore Airlines, as well as recreational pilots.

Mr Cooper believes that could be contributing to the rate of near misses.

TIM COOPER: These trainee pilots, and English is not their first language, so there may be some misinterpretation of instructions from tower. It kind of is the perfect storm. It's only by education from the authorities, education seminars and investigating incidents that safety is improved.

LUCY MARTIN: Former pilot Alan says he stopped flying at Jandakot after a near miss in 2007.

ALAN: I had a student pilot took off behind me in a faster plane and decided to climb over the top of me in the circuit. The only thing that saved my life when I was still climbing was the control tower who called to the other aircraft to brake right.

He didn't understand the call. Fortunately the instructor, the Royal Aero Club instructor with me, took over and we broke left and lined up behind the other idiot. I think some people are letting their students go solo too soon.

LUCY MARTIN: The ATSB says it has heard some anecdotal evidence about why Jandakot might be recording more near misses than other general aviation airports.

Its investigation will look into those suggestions.

Trevor Jones is the chief flying instructor at Western Australia's Royal Aero Club.

TREVOR JONES: I think it's a good thing, you know. It's just getting out there in the open, gives us an opportunity to let them know what we think it might be. We want safety in the air, and if they give us some recommendations, or if we can come up with our own ideas for improving safety then we absolutely look at that all the time.

MARK COLVIN: Trevor Jones from the WA Royal Aero Club ending Lucy Martin's report.

So for once perhaps a good initiative & complimentary use of resources by the ATSB?? However I do question why this is only now being brought to public attention when the investigation was initiated over two weeks ago - AI-2015-063. And was not subject to any media releases etc. at that time, nor is the issue listed in the ATSB Safety Watch page as a serious safety issue concern.

I am also somewhat sceptical about what it is the ATSB think they will discover & what possible recommendations (if any) will come out in the final report? Maybe they may recommend that another airport be built as Jandakot has reached capacity; or that Jandakot should revert to the old GAAP procedures...

Anyway at least Beaker is nowhere to be seen this time...P2