Fetch my drum Minnie; yes, the big one.
ATSB – “Mr Hansford also claimed that the ATSB's failure to meet its investigation targets was linked to its role in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.”
ATSB - “The search for MH370 has not affected the ATSB’s core functions. Additional funding was provided by the governments of Malaysia, the People’s Republic of China and Australia to assist the ATSB lead the search for the missing aircraft.”
P2 - I think Mr Hanson's comment is a fair point, especially when you consider that prior to the MH370 disaster Beaker had made redundant 12 of the ATSB's frontline staff. I also can't remember a recruitment drive solely for the extra specialist staff required for MH370...
Hanson – “"Until a case is resolved, there can be no remedial action taken by the relevant authorities, CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) or the Department of Transport or even private airport operators.”
ATSB – “In fact, the ATSB does not wait for an investigation to be completed to bring safety matters to the attention of operators and authorities.”
“Safety matters” what a trite, amorphous little expression that is. Is the reader supposed to relax after reading that sentence? The implications are, I believe deliberately, very misleading. You don’t need to be any sort of aviation or accident guru to work out why; any application of common or garden sense will clearly define why this is so.
Accidents; why do they happen? There are some folk who firmly believe that the beating of a butterfly’s wings can create a Tsunami; there are those who believe in the ripples in a pond, Some say ‘fate’ takes an hand; others say coincidence; others say its random chaos. You could probably end up quite mad trying to philosophise whether a camel breaking wind in the Tunis souk started a chain of events which led to a disaster. “All for the want of a nail”.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. (Ben Franklin).
What the ATSB is trying to peddle is that ‘the kingdom was lost’ ; yes we know that.
What we don’t know – and; by the by, neither do the ATSB is ‘Why’. Until we can determine why the shoe needed a nail, there is no real solution or determination where the radical cause lay. How far do we go back to work that out. Was it the fault of the previous rider who failed to notice; or the groom who failed to call the farrier; or the farrier for supplying dodgy nails: or the maker of dodgy nails? As said; you can go quite mad if you start chasing down the ‘radical’.
The notion that the ATSB can, with some certainty, clearly define a ‘safety matter’ accurately and ‘report’ it to “operators and authorities” is a fairly big stretch, - without the entire ‘report’ being available. For example; to tell the “authorities” that ‘twas all the messengers fault will see the messenger prosecuted, new rules for messengers laid, a requirement for a second horse to be available at all times, and the stable master bolloked for not training the messengers properly: etc.
Whereas with the ‘full’ report available, the ‘authorities and operators’ can form a proper picture of the ‘facts and circumstances’. Then real, meaningful changes be made to prevent a repeat event.
The ‘loop’ needs to closed; open ended, high speed, knee jerk response to an accident or incident is not only counterproductive; it is irresponsible, in the worst possible way.
The ATSB should have been disbanded after Pel-Air and restructured along the lines of the Canadian or American NTSB. Given independent funding, reporting directly to a minister or the Senate; the MoU shredded; competent leadership and a mandate to provide accurate reports in a timely manner, without prevarication, bias or favour. What we have at the moment is a shadow of the fine, world class BASI, living vicariously on that previous reputation. We used to have a watchdog – all we have now is the tick which killed it.
Will the minister act? Can the Senate act? Don’t know is the answer; but someone should get off their beam ends and sort this aberration out; before the ATSB slip-shod, lip service department reports become a radical part of the causal chain in a repeat of a preventable event.
Selah.
ATSB – “Mr Hansford also claimed that the ATSB's failure to meet its investigation targets was linked to its role in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.”
ATSB - “The search for MH370 has not affected the ATSB’s core functions. Additional funding was provided by the governments of Malaysia, the People’s Republic of China and Australia to assist the ATSB lead the search for the missing aircraft.”
P2 - I think Mr Hanson's comment is a fair point, especially when you consider that prior to the MH370 disaster Beaker had made redundant 12 of the ATSB's frontline staff. I also can't remember a recruitment drive solely for the extra specialist staff required for MH370...
Hanson – “"Until a case is resolved, there can be no remedial action taken by the relevant authorities, CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) or the Department of Transport or even private airport operators.”
ATSB – “In fact, the ATSB does not wait for an investigation to be completed to bring safety matters to the attention of operators and authorities.”
“Safety matters” what a trite, amorphous little expression that is. Is the reader supposed to relax after reading that sentence? The implications are, I believe deliberately, very misleading. You don’t need to be any sort of aviation or accident guru to work out why; any application of common or garden sense will clearly define why this is so.
Accidents; why do they happen? There are some folk who firmly believe that the beating of a butterfly’s wings can create a Tsunami; there are those who believe in the ripples in a pond, Some say ‘fate’ takes an hand; others say coincidence; others say its random chaos. You could probably end up quite mad trying to philosophise whether a camel breaking wind in the Tunis souk started a chain of events which led to a disaster. “All for the want of a nail”.
For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. (Ben Franklin).
What the ATSB is trying to peddle is that ‘the kingdom was lost’ ; yes we know that.
What we don’t know – and; by the by, neither do the ATSB is ‘Why’. Until we can determine why the shoe needed a nail, there is no real solution or determination where the radical cause lay. How far do we go back to work that out. Was it the fault of the previous rider who failed to notice; or the groom who failed to call the farrier; or the farrier for supplying dodgy nails: or the maker of dodgy nails? As said; you can go quite mad if you start chasing down the ‘radical’.
The notion that the ATSB can, with some certainty, clearly define a ‘safety matter’ accurately and ‘report’ it to “operators and authorities” is a fairly big stretch, - without the entire ‘report’ being available. For example; to tell the “authorities” that ‘twas all the messengers fault will see the messenger prosecuted, new rules for messengers laid, a requirement for a second horse to be available at all times, and the stable master bolloked for not training the messengers properly: etc.
Whereas with the ‘full’ report available, the ‘authorities and operators’ can form a proper picture of the ‘facts and circumstances’. Then real, meaningful changes be made to prevent a repeat event.
The ‘loop’ needs to closed; open ended, high speed, knee jerk response to an accident or incident is not only counterproductive; it is irresponsible, in the worst possible way.
The ATSB should have been disbanded after Pel-Air and restructured along the lines of the Canadian or American NTSB. Given independent funding, reporting directly to a minister or the Senate; the MoU shredded; competent leadership and a mandate to provide accurate reports in a timely manner, without prevarication, bias or favour. What we have at the moment is a shadow of the fine, world class BASI, living vicariously on that previous reputation. We used to have a watchdog – all we have now is the tick which killed it.
Will the minister act? Can the Senate act? Don’t know is the answer; but someone should get off their beam ends and sort this aberration out; before the ATSB slip-shod, lip service department reports become a radical part of the causal chain in a repeat of a preventable event.
Selah.