[Peetwo]

Senator X v Dolan Estimates Part 2 on  VH-NGA CVR/FDR recovery:

About bloody time only took 1896 days to finally see Reason....sheesh..

Hot off the cyberpress a update on the ATSB PelAir reinvestigation: Ditching of Israel Aircraft Westwind 1124A aircraft, VH-NGA, 5 km SW of Norfolk Island Airport on 18 November 2009

Update

On 4 December 2014, the ATSB formally reopened the investigation into the ditching of an Israeli Aircraft Industries Westwind 1124A aircraft, registered VH-NGA. As part of the re-opened investigation the ATSB is taking all reasonable steps to recover the flight recorders from the accident aircraft and download and analyse the data from them.

In order to make an informed assessment of the feasibility of recovering the recorders from the tail of the aircraft, the ATSB recently conducted an underwater survey of the aircraft wreckage on 28–29 March 2015. The survey was completed with the assistance of specialist dive officers from New South Wales Police and the Australian Federal Police. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with video recording capability was used in the conduct of the survey. The images were compared with those undertaken for the ATSB in the initial ROV survey, conducted in December 2009.
Conditions for the latest survey were difficult, with large ocean swells, poor visibility and a strong underwater current, all likely as a result of the passage of Cyclone Pam to the north of Norfolk Island a couple of weeks previously. Regardless of the less than ideal conditions, the survey exercise was successful and adequate for the ATSB to continue its planning for the next phase based on a good understanding of the state of the wreckage:

• The wreckage remains at its last recorded position, submerged in water to a depth of 48 m, approximately 4.5 km to the west of Norfolk Island.
  
• Both wings, both engines, the rear section of fuselage and the tail remain attached and were accounted for during the survey.
  
• The two major fuselage segments are no longer connected by flight control cables (as they were in 2009) and the front section of the passenger compartment has shifted slightly as a result of underwater currents, but the two segments remain close together.
  
• The wreckage has been resting on a sandy-based ocean floor and as a consequence the tail section of the fuselage containing the flight recorders has been partially buried by the movement of sand. The left and right main landing gear have also been partially buried by sand.
  
• Both engines, as well as the left and right wings, remain clear of the sandy ocean floor. 
  

 
Sample images are provided in Figures 1-3.

Figure 1: March 2015 ROV still image of aircraft wreckage view looking down



Figure 2: March 2015 ROV still image from the right side of the aircraft view looking rearward
 

 
Figure 3: March 2015 ROV still image from the left side of the aircraft tail: the rear fuselage section containing the flight recorders is partially buried in sand



Based on enquiries by the ATSB, it does not appear that there have been any successful dives onto the actual wreckage by independent parties since the accident. The depth of the water at the site requires the use of specialised commercial diving expertise and equipment, including the provision of a hyperbaric chamber in case of an emergency situation. In addition there are no locally available vessels capable of lifting the aircraft from the ocean floor. The information obtained from this latest underwater survey will be used to assist the ATSB in its planning and assessment of options for the next phase of the project to recover the recorders.
The main focus of the re-opened investigation to date has been the review of documentation requested from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the operator and other organisations, as well as interviewing a number of personnel from these organisations. These activities are ongoing.
 
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The information contained in this web update is released in accordance with section 25 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 and is derived from the initial investigation of the occurrence. Readers are cautioned that new evidence will become available as the investigation progresses that will enhance the ATSB's understanding of the accident as outlined in this web update. As such, no analysis or findings are included in this update.

MTF...you betcha! P2