[Peetwo]

Su_Spence timeline of negligence and duplicity on Top End Robbo and Tourism Ops!! - 

To begin I start with the following extract from this week's #SBG:  Ineptitude, Insouciance and perhaps...

DK: “But again, it’s whether there was any further action in terms of the maintenance of this craft, whether there’s more, broader systemic things that they think they need to do. So they’re continuing to look at that, but ATSB have finished its investigation and didn’t find any direct findings against CASA, and really what ATSB will do, and they’re the investigators, will look at whether there’s any systemic failures that need further work.”

BRB - But How??? This was defined (modulated) to a “defined” investigation; not a 'systemic' investigation. Whole world of difference. ATSB being obliging and Popinjay (he, a graduate of the NFI idea club) just hopes it all slides by. BOLLOCKS....

Working backwards on the TONAD and very much related, to perhaps 'broader systemic things', I note the following Oz articles published in recent days... (TY CW.. )

Broome Council never authorised industrial site to be used as helicopter landing strip before fatal crash



Award-winning West Australian tourism operator Troy Thomas used a crowded industrial property in the Kimberley as a helicopter landing site – without council permission or anyone noticing – for at least four years before it became the scene of a fatal crash that killed him and a 12-year-old girl.

On July 4, 2020, Thomas and Perth schoolgirl Amber Millar were killed when his chopper – registered VH-NBY – crashed within 2.7 seconds of take-off from the Bilingurr industrial site, 3km north of Broome Airport.

The Australian can now reveal that immediately after the double-fatality WA Police exercised their coronial investigation powers to find out if the high-profile tourism operator was authorised to take-off from and land aircraft at the crowded Antheous Way property, just a few minutes’ drive from a regional airport.

Documents obtained from Broome Shire Council under Freedom of Information laws reveal that three days after the crash detectives were already asking whether Thomas had approval to use his private warehouse and residential premises as a helicopter landing site.

On July 7, 2020, a Broome detective – whose name was redacted – asked the council for copies of building plans, zoning, complaints and planning approvals related to the industrial site.



Planning and Building Services manager Kirsten Wood told police the property was zoned ‘Light and Service Industry’ under Local Planning Scheme No 6.

“The Shire did not receive any request for approval to land and take off helicopters from the site,” she emailed the investigator.

“To use the land as a helicopter landing pad, the land use definition under LPS6 would be ‘landing strip’... A ‘landing strip’ is an ‘X’ use (not permitted) in the Light and Service Industry area, which the subject site is zoned.

“The Shire has not issued any specific approval for the property to be used as a landing strip.”

Ms Wood said that the site was only approved as a warehouse, which is the “storing of goods”, and a development application would have needed to have been submitted and approved to use the site as a landing strip.

“Through the application process it would have to be demonstrated how the land use is incidental to an approved use on site,” she said.

“It would also need to be demonstrated that CASA safety standards would be met and noise regulations could be satisfied.”

The correspondence between council officers and WA Police suggested that Broome Shire was unaware of Thomas taking off from and landing helicopters at the Bilingurr industrial site because it never received any reports or noise complaints about aircraft activity at that location.

The fenced 2000-square metre property – which Thomas and his widow Sophie purchased in 2007 – contained large sheds and private residences where the Thomas family lived. It was also used to store equipment and assets for their tourism operations.



The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s final report into the fatal crash said that due to COVID-19, more equipment than usual was stored at the industrial site at the time of the fatal crash.

“As a result, the site was more confined than usual, presenting an increased risk for helicopter operations,” its final report said.

“The site at Bilingurr was used as the home base for the helicopter and partly intended for use for the arrival or departure of helicopters.

“The operator stated that the site was operated as a basic helicopter landing site (HLS). However, helicopters had been used at the site for at least 4 years.”

A civil aviation advisory circular in force at the time of the crash defined “basic” HLS as “a place that may be used as an aerodrome for infrequent, opportunity and short-term operations … by day under helicopter Visual Meteorological Conditions.”

In the weeks preceding the fatal crash, both Thomas and pilot Bryce McGlashan had observed an unusual vibration through the tail rotor pedals of VH-NBY.

The day before the fatal crash, on July 3, a team of engineers from an approved maintenance organisation attended the industrial site to inspect the chopper but refused to perform the required check flight at that location for safety reasons.

“The LAME (licensed aircraft maintenance engineer) reported wanting someone to fly the helicopter as they wanted to determine if the reported vibration in the pedals was detectable in flight,” the ATSB report said.

“The AMO pilot elected not to hover or fly the helicopter in the industrial site as they felt that it was too confined and were concerned about foreign object damage if they hovered the helicopter.”



The owner of the AMO told the ATSB that he advised both Thomas and Mr McGlashan of the requirement for a check flight to be carried out. This was also annotated in their maintenance documentation.

“However, the pilot that first detected the vibration and the accident pilot were reportedly unaware that a check flight was required,” the ATSB wrote.

The next day Thomas, a private pilot who was unlicensed at the time, performed a high-powered vertical take-off from the industrial site in VH-NBY with three passengers on board.

“The confined area associated with the industrial property required the pilot of VH-NBY to conduct a near-vertical departure, within the avoid area of the height / velocity diagram, limiting the energy available in the helicopter to use in an emergency response,” the ATSB found.

“That departure also demanded higher power than the recommended take-off profile over open ground.”

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has previously declined to answer questions about whether Thomas had permission to take off from or land at the industrial site; however emails between Thomas and CASA obtained under FOI make no mention of it.

Civil Aviation Regulations state that an aircraft shall not land at, or take-off from, any place unless the place “is suitable for use as an aerodrome for the purposes of the landing and taking-off of aircraft; and, having regard to all the circumstances of the proposed landing or take-off (including the prevailing weather conditions), the aircraft can land at, or take-off from, the place in safety”.

Helicopter take-offs from the industrial site required clearance from Broome’s Air Traffic Control tower because the site is within Class Delta airspace.

The Australian is aware of Thomas taking off from and landing at the property on multiple occasions, including with paying passengers after performing an unauthorised medical evacuation from a vessel in August 2019.

This comes after a WA coroner last month refused repeated pleas from Amber’s parents to hold an inquest into their only child’s preventable death.

Pilot Troy Thomas performed unauthorised helicopter medical evacuations before fatal Broome crash



A high-profile tourism operator, whose private pilot license had expired, was performing commercial medical evacuations off the coast of Western Australia before the fatal Kimberley chopper crash that killed him and a 12-year-old girl.

In July 2020, pilot Troy Thomas and Perth schoolgirl Amber Millar were killed when his helicopter – registered VH-NBY – crashed immediately after take-off from an industrial site in Broome.

The Australian can now reveal that prior to the fatal crash, Thomas was performing medical evacuations in his choppers for which he charged passengers thousands of dollars.

In July 2019, Thomas airlifted a passenger from luxury catamaran MV Diversity II, off the WA coast, in his Robinson R44 registered VH-ZGY. That helicopter was destroyed the next day when he crashed it off the top of his boat.

Weeks later on August 2, Thomas airlifted Elly Hayes and her husband David from expedition vessel Odyssey in a different helicopter and charged them almost $2000 for the service.

Ms Hayes, 76, said that Thomas performed the paid medical evacuation after she became unwell on the first afternoon of a nine-day cruise.

The Australian understands that the vessel’s skipper called the Royal Flying Doctors Service, who conducted a telehealth consultation.

The vessel’s owner then contacted Thomas about performing a medical evacuation for Ms Hayes and her husband.

“It was kind of dusk when we got picked up,” Ms Hayes said.

“It was a pretty windy and scary ride, I must admit.

“It was one of those tiny little helicopters and the wind was buffeting like crazy.”



Thomas flew the couple to his property at an industrial site, north of Broome.

“He dropped me back to his yard at the industrial site where he has his own home,” Ms Hayes said.

“We sat in his home waiting for the ambulance.”

St John Ambulance confirmed a crew collected Ms Hayes from the Bilingurr property at 5.48pm and transported her to Broome Hospital.

A few days later, Ms Hayes received a $1936 invoice from Ultimate Outback Experiences for the “supply of helicopter for Medi-vac from the vessel Odyssey back to Broome for medical treatment” which the invoice says took 1.6 hours.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission records show Ultimate Outback Experiences was registered in June 2019 and traded as Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures which Thomas founded in 2008. The holder of the company, which is based at the Bilingurr industrial site, is The Trustee for the Thomas Family Trust.

Ultimate Outback Experiences did not hold an Air Operators’ Certificate. Nor did Avanova Pty Ltd, which owned and operated the helicopter.

“We were airlifted by a pilot who we now understand wasn‘t compliant and didn’t have a license and I mean; we could have been killed,” Ms Hayes said.

“We were put in a situation which nobody should be put in.

“The north-west might be a cowboy town but it‘s still Australia and you still have to abide by the laws.

“It‘s mind boggling to think that he’s got away with this in Australia.”

Ms Hayes said her travel insurance, Fast Cover, paid the invoice.

“We‘ve got off scot-free,” she said.

“We were very lucky.

“But how did he get a contract to fly for the RFDS?”



The RFDS last week said that neither Thomas or his companies were contracted to its organisation.

“As far RFDS Western Operations is aware, the organisation has never tasked Troy Thomas or his company Ultimate Outback Experiences, which was trading as Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures, to carry out aeromedical retrievals,” a spokesperson said.

“RFDS Western Operations provided a telehealth consult for each of these patients (on vessels Diversity and Odyssey) however RFDS Western Operations did not have any involvement in coordinating or facilitating either medical evacuation.”

Under the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s regulatory framework “air ambulance flights” are considered commercial air transport flights and pilots conducting flights for the RFDS are required to hold a Commercial Pilots Licence.

“Mr Thomas has never held any regulatory approvals other than a private pilot licence and was never authorised to make any safety decisions or fly on behalf of Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures or any other company,” CASA said.

Odyssey’s owner at the time told The Australian he did not know – until after Thomas’s death – that the 40-year-old was unlicensed at the time and unauthorised to perform medical evacuations.

Diversity’s long-time owner last week said she “does not know anything about” the medical evacuation from her 12-passenger charter boat in July 2019 and that her son, who was the skipper at the time, was too busy to speak to The Australian about it.

This comes after a West Australian coroner refused to hold an inquest into Amber’s death, despite repeated pleas from her parents, because he did not believe it would “generate any additional evidence”.

Of course, around about the same time we had Dicky King's trainwreck interview - ref:  Miniscule Dicky King trainwreck interview: Skerritt the panacea for Transport Safety agencies?? - and a week before Nadia Misopoulos:

Looking through previous episodes of the Nadia Mitsopoulos morning radio program, I note that last week she focused on the Broome R44 crash that killed 12 year old Ambar Miller: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/p.../103036226 (from 05:15 minutes)

  
Nadia also interviewed the parents back in April: Family of girl killed in Broome chopper crash calls for aviation crackdown as ATSB finds safety failures

A couple of days later there was this ABC article: West Australian government scathing of CASA over Broome helicopter crash that killed Amber Millar and Troy Thomas

CASA advice on pilots questioned

In statements to the ABC earlier this week, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said all aviation tourism operators must hold an air operator's certificate — something it is understood Mr Thomas did not.



"Commercial aviation operations are strictly monitored by CASA including through ongoing oversight, surveillance and audits," a spokesperson said.

"We encourage people to always check pilots are appropriately licensed and qualified to fly and to report any safety concerns they may have to CASA or the Australian Transport Safety Bureau."

Some days later, in a AOPA Live YouTube video, Clinton McKenzie commented on the above (in bold) statement  (from about 01:09 min):

(Earlier in the segment {about 56 minutes in} Clinton also mentioned the subject of the SOE/ATSB special requests for extra funding and the fact he made a FOI submission to the ATSB in regards to when and if this may have occurred:

All internal and external correspondence and records of any meetings or discussions created within the period 18 April 2020 to 17 April 2023, comprising or relating to advice given by ATSB or the ATSB’s Chief Commissioner, or advice considered to be given by ATSB or the ATSB’s Chief Commissioner even if the advice was not given, to either or both of: (1) a Minister with portfolio responsibility for the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 or any of that Minister’s staff; and (2) any official in the Department with portfolio responsibility for the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 when the costs of investigation activities by the ATSB were assessed by ATSB as likely to exceed established ATSB budget levels.

For those interested here is a link for the FOI documents released under Clinton's FOI request: https://www.atsb.gov.au/sites/default/fi...uments.pdf )

Speaking of FOI requests I note the following entry from the CASA FOI disclosure log: 

1 June 2023
Aircraft maintenance for VH-NBY

• Freedom of Information (FOI) 1 June 2023 – Aircraft maintenance for VH-NBY (PDF, 33.86 MB)
  

Plus, IMO definitely related, these FOI released documents: Ref - Su_Spence's conflicted 'stating the bollocks' on Top-End Madness??  

23 May 2023
All documents and correspondence related to the 23 June 2021 Crocodile Farms NT gift of a briefing and helicopter flight.

• Freedom of Information (FOI) - 23 June 2021 Helicopter Flight
  

Much, much MTF...P2