[Peetwo]

Gold Coast chopper midair - Popinjay to the rescue (again.. )

Via Channel 9 News this AM - :

Popinjay is all over the news this AM flapping his gums doing a job that surely the IIC; or his professional media boffin; or even his Aviation Commissioner Manning would be better qualified to do...??     

Here is the initial media release (put out yesterday) from Popinjay:

 

Gold Coast helicopter mid-air collision

The following statement can be attributed to ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell 
 
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has commenced a transport safety investigation into the fatal mid-air collision involving two helicopters near Seaworld on the Gold Coast, Queensland on Monday afternoon. 

“Transport safety investigators with experience in helicopter operations, maintenance and survivability engineering are deploying from the ATSB’s Brisbane and Canberra offices and are expected to begin arriving at the accident site from Monday afternoon.    

“During the evidence gathering phase of the investigation, ATSB investigators will examine the wreckage and map the accident site. Investigators will also recover any relevant components for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra, gather any available recorded data for analysis, and interview witnesses and other involved parties.  

“The ATSB asks anyone who may have seen the collision, or who witnessed the helicopters in any phase of their flights, or who may have footage of any kind, to make contact via witness@atsb.gov.au at their earliest opportunity. 

“The ATSB anticipates publishing a preliminary report detailing basic information gathered during the investigation’s evidence collection phase in approximately 6-8 weeks.  

“A final report will be published at the conclusion of the investigation, however, should any critical safety issues be identified at any stage during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so appropriate safety action can be taken.” 

// Ends  

NOTE: The ATSB will be engaging with on-site media in the morning (Tuesday 3 January). Further details on the location of media activity will be distributed directly to media outlets/COS as soon as practical.  

Date
02/01/2023

Note the subtle differences between that and the one for the Appin Glasair fatal accident:

Popinjay to the rescue: Part II 

In search of further details of the NT and Appin fatal crashes, I note that as yet there has been no accident occurrence (AO-****-***) numbers issued for both these investigations: Refer - https://www.atsb.gov.au/aviation-investigation-reports.

To be fair this is probably because most of the office staff normally responsible for inputting these notifications are on Xmas/New Year leave.  

However Popinjay (again to the rescue) did issue two media releases on the 26th with some limited details about both these tragic accidents:    

Appin NSW aircraft accident

Released: 26 December 2022

The following statement can be attributed to ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell:

“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has commenced an investigation into a collision with terrain involving a foreign registered Glasair Super II aircraft near Appin, NSW which occurred shortly before 3.00pm on Monday.

“The aircraft came down in bushland in the vicinity of Appin Road, where on-site emergency services confirmed the two occupants on board were deceased.

"A team of transport safety investigators from the ATSB's Canberra and Brisbane offices are deploying to the accident site to commence the on-site phase of the investigation.

"The initial ATSB safety investigation will include an examination of the wreckage, assessment of aircraft and pilot records, weather information and any available recorded data.

"The ATSB’s evidence collection will define the size and scope of the investigation and determine the expected timeframe for the completion of a final report.

“The ATSB asks anyone who may have seen the aircraft in any phase of its flight, or who may have footage of any kind, to please make contact via our website - www.atsb.gov.au/witness

"A report will be published at the completion of the investigation. However, should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties."

// Ends

NOTE: The ATSB will not be providing any further statements in relation to this accident until the release of the preliminary report in about 6 - 8 weeks time.

Note also that the promised release of the prelim report is still 6 - 8 weeks, even though this is in contravention of recognised ICAO Annex 13 standards (Chapter 7 Para 7.4)...

MTF...P2