[Peetwo]

Update to PelAir cover-up re-investigation - The O&O bollocks continues  

Just a quick re-hash on the re-investigation timeline of embuggerance and continued obfuscation by CC Dolan, contrary to promises and undertakings made:

Video record of Estimates 24/02/2014 & 24/02/15  :

&..then after the former DPM called for the ATSB to revisit the PelAir investigation, in light of the damning findings in the TSBC peer review report:

Here is part of the Hansard for that Estimates session:

Mr Dolan : Including Pel-Air and including CASA, as necessary. We have already put in a request for additional information from Pel-Air and from CASA and we will have our normal directly involved party processes where a draft of the report will be provided for comment to all involved parties.

Senator XENOPHON: What time frame are you looking at for this exercise?

Mr Dolan : Our objective, the target, for completion and publication of a final report of this reopened investigation is before Christmas.

CHAIR: Does that mean that this committee might not have been far off the mark?

Mr Dolan : The committee made recommendations that we should reopen the investigation and that we should retrieve the flight data recorders. We have agreed to reopen the investigation and we will also proceed to retrieve the flight data recorders.

Senator XENOPHON: That is quite significant because it is at 42 metres, is it?

Mr Walsh : It is at around 49 metres.

Senator XENOPHON: I have a couple of mates who are happy to put some scuba gear on. I say that lightly. Obviously there are occupational health and safety issues. Senator Heffernan might be able to dive down for it. When will that flight data recorder be retrieved?

Mr Walsh : We are working to do that as soon as reasonably practicable. An important initial part of the process will be to do a reconnaissance of the site to confirm its location, that it is still there.

CHAIR: It could be anywhere by now.

Mr Dolan : No, Senator. We have imagery of it pretty much in situ.

CHAIR: What sort of material is it?

Mr Dolan : It is solid state recording equipment.

Senator XENOPHON: Historically, was it five years or six years ago?

Mr Walsh : It would be going on for six years.

Senator XENOPHON: Are there other flight data recorders that have been recovered at that sort of age that are still okay?

Mr Walsh : Yes. We are confident that, provided the recording devices were functioning correctly and were recording correctly, there is no reason why there should not be good usable data off the recorders.

Senator XENOPHON: Would there be any difficulty, once they are recovered and digital copies are made, for a copy of that to be provided to this committee, if the committee was minded to request it?

Mr Walsh : I would need to take that on notice. There would certainly be issues to address in terms of the CVR, more so than the FDR. The flight data recorder information would be classified as restricted information, and obviously there are mechanisms to provide that to the committee. The CVR data obviously is a lot more sensitive and comes under the guise of an on-board recording. I would need to understand a bit more fully the implications of that. #1

Senator XENOPHON: But presumably the pilot, Dominic James, would be given an opportunity to have access to those as a matter of course?

Mr Walsh : Yes, that is correct.

Mr Dolan : That will definitely be done. The broader question, given the very strong protections that are put in place for cockpit voice recorders, is the extent to which we are entitled to release it.

Senator XENOPHON: If the committee were minded to ask for regular updates on the progress of the report—without in any way compromising confidential information; just to get a broad outline of where you are at—would there be any difficulty with the ATSB providing the committee with that information?

Mr Dolan : The commissioner has asked for regular updates on the progress of the reports and that is the extent of our involvement at this stage, so we would be happy to provide that material to this committee as well. #2

Senator XENOPHON: I think that would be useful to the committee. I think there is a consensus that it would be.

Undertaking #1 (above): Here is the answer to the Mr Walsh QON:

Answer:

Any audio recording on the Cockpit Voice Recorder will be classified as an On-Board Recording (OBR) Information in accordance with section 48 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (TSI Act). Division 1 of Part 6 of the TSI Act prohibits the disclosure and use of OBR information for purposes other than accident and incident investigation under the TSI Act (with some very limited exceptions for criminal and civil proceedings). The restrictions on use and disclosure are to ensure industry cooperation and the free flow of critical safety information into the future for safety investigations. The ATSB would be restrained in its ability to respond to a request for the OBR information from the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, noting that doing so would raise compliance issues with the TSI Act. In particular, the ATSB would be concerned to uphold the principles of the protections, limiting the publication of OBR information in the public domain. The ATSB notes that the requirement under Standing Order 26(2) for Estimates Committees to hear evidence in the public domain would make this difficult.



Protections for the Flight Data Recorder Information are less restrictive and the ATSB may be able to disclose information from the recording, other than in the Investigation Report, where a case can be made that it is necessary or desirable for transport safety.

Undertaking #2 - Copy of part of my post off O&O thread:

More Beaker O&O bollocks??

"..Seems the DIP have told ATSB to take the draft away and ‘get real’ i.e.. rejected; and, returned with some force.."
 
Interesting rumour..    In an attempt to follow up - & knowing ATSBeaker don't always publicise updates to active investigations, especially those that are politically sensitive and they are providing top cover for - I dug out the re-investigation 'Update' page :   

Updated: 4 April 2016


The re-opened investigation has gathered a substantial volume of additional evidence, primarily from CASA and the aircraft operator, and has involved over 20 interviews with personnel from the operator and CASA, as well as information from the aircraft’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders. Analysis of the large volume of evidence obtained is continuing as is the development of the draft report, which is now expected to be released for review and comment by directly involved parties around the middle of the year. That analysis is focusing on:

• pre-flight planning and fuel management procedures and practices
  
• in-flight fuel management and related decision-making procedures and practices
  
• fatigue management procedures and practices
  
• flight crew check and training
  
• the operator’s oversight of its flight operations activities
  
• provision of weather and other flight information to flight crews
  
• cabin safety and survival factors
  
• regulatory oversight of activities such as those listed above
  

From that it can be seen that once again the ATSB has discretely (no fanfare) side-stepped notifying the general public and industry on the latest O&O of (re)-investigation AO-2009-072. Well no surprises there, hopefully this further delay update (& the circumstances for the latest delay) has been passed onto (as promised by Dolan) the Senators??

Although it could be that the DIPs (in this case CASA & the operator) have called for wholesale amendment to the DRAFT FR, the above would seem to put the first part of the rumour to bed. 

{P2 OBs - Reading between the lines it would appear that the lid has well & truly been lifted and now the rats are no doubt scurrying to find a bolt hole while the true, scurrilous, unadulterated version rears its ugly head}  

The other part of the rumour could well be true - i.e waiting it out till the cover of the election campaign & the transition to the new parliament. The timing would also (if a DD election) coincide with CC Dolan finally leaving the building, perfect opportunity to come clean. You know fresh start, new chapter, change of philosophy, cultural change and all that 'key word' spin & bulldust...

Personally I don't think so, all of the above will happen regardless of the PelAir re-investigation final report outcome. No I think this delay is more to do with the uncovering of much, much more disturbing revelations that even a dedicated Senate Committee were not able to uncover...

This was the last stated scoping by the ATSB in their 25 May 2015 update (in bold):

Updated: 25 May 2015


The previous update on 24 April 2015 outlined the results of a recent underwater survey of the aircraft’s wreckage. Based on this survey, the ATSB is currently assessing options for the task of recovering the recorders.

Other investigation activities to date have included:

• Reviewing documentation from the original ATSB investigation and the Senate Inquiry conducted by the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee in 2012-2013.
  
• Reviewing documentation from investigations into the accident conducted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the operator.
  
• Reviewing documentation from the operator, including flight records for several Westwind aircraft, check and training records for several flight crew, duty times and rosters, occurrence and hazard reports, audit reports, and safety committee meeting records.  
  
• Interviewing 14 personnel from the operator, including management, check and training pilots and line pilots.
  
• Comparing the operator’s policies and procedures and other requirements with its operational practices, particularly in areas such as flight planning, fuel management, fatigue management, and emergency procedures.
  
• Comparing the results from three bio-mathematical models of fatigue when applied to a series of the operator’s duty periods, and examining the suitability of the FAID model and related guidance material when applied to the operator’s air ambulance operations.
  
• Reviewing documentation from the air traffic services’ providers in Fiji and New Zealand about their policies and procedures for the provision of flight information, and how these were applied during the accident flight.
  
• Reviewing CASA’s surveillance files and related documentation for the operator.
  
• Reviewing documentation and interviewing personnel from the air ambulance contracting company.
  
  

During the Senate Inquiry associated with the original ATSB investigation, significant concerns were raised by some of the aircraft’s occupants about the serviceability and design of the life jackets used by three of the occupants. The re-opened investigation established that the life jackets had been retained by the Norfolk Island Police Force since the accident. The ATSB has now taken possession of the life jackets, and they will be examined after consultation with relevant parties. The life jackets were required to be serviced every 5 years, and all three jackets had been serviced within the 5-year period prior to the accident.

As well as continuing with the above activities, the next phase of the investigation will involve:

• Interviewing several personnel from CASA.
  
  
• Comparing the operator’s policies, procedures and practices with other air ambulance operators.
  
  
• Examining the reliability of weather forecasting at Norfolk Island.
  

 
& also on discovery that the CVR/FDR recordings were not corrupted and therefore useable, it was stated in the 19 October 2015 update:

The previous update on 25 May 2015 outlined the nature of the other investigation activities being undertaken by the re-opened investigation. These activities are close to being completed. In addition, the re-opened investigation has conducted interviews with both flight crew and both medical crew from the accident flight.

The investigation team are now in the process of analysing the available information and they have commenced the preparation of a draft report. Given the delay in recovering the recorders and the amount of information that has been collected and analysed, it is expected that a draft report will be released to directly involved parties for comment in early 2016.

If you think about it the potential ramifications of the latest (04 April) update, could lead to far more than yet another overdue & obfuscated ATSB (re)-investigation. I'm thinking on the implications for withholding evidence from a parliamentary inquiry...   

I'll let you be the judge whether undertaking #1 and/or #2 has been honoured -


MTF...P2