April 2022 Outlook Newsletter

DerekB22/04/202222/04/2022

The April 2022 edition of the Outlook / AHSA News has been emailed to members.

This edition can also be read online in the viewer below.

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1961 Auster J/1B Aiglet VH-ABP operated by Farmair Pty LTD crashed at Marilla Station near Giralia Station Homestead, Western Australia on 16 December 1961. According to an eyewitness report: "On the day that I last saw this aircraft I was driving my open Jeep back from point Samson to Roebourne when I saw this aircraft take off and head out of my sight in a south-westerly direction. I knew the well because of the colour and its very distinctive very large registration letters. Next morning about 7am I was woken by people of authority asking me the relevant questions. I could not convince anyone that the plane had left in a S/W direction as I was told then it was due in Port Hedland later the previous day. I was part of the search team next day, all to the north and west. A total waste of time and resources. The compass in these planes is fitted at maximum height and distance from magnetic influences add has to be read via a mirror; something I found to be very difficult when I was a student pilot. The crash and burn site proved to be about 150 - 200 miles and the time would have been dusk or later in the very S/W direction as I had told the searchers." There were 3 fatalities. Sources: aviation-safety.net website; Auster Heritage Group website

1988 Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 Marquise VH-BBA operated by Broughton Air Services P/L crashed 55 km west north-west of Leonora, WA on 16 December 1988. The aircraft crashed at Sturt Meadows Station, between Leonora and Meekatharra, at approximate co-ordinates Latitude 28°48' S, Longitude 120'43' E. The pilot and nine passengers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed by the impact and a subsequent fire. The ATSB report concluded that the aircraft probably accrued icing on the airframe, which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where the aircraft stalled and entered a spin; and that the pilot did not become aware of the decreasing airspeed in time to take action to prevent loss of control. The crash of VH-BBA was the worst air accident in Western Australia for 20 years, killing all 10 aboard, and worst MU-2 crash in the world, in terms of number of fatalities. The ATSB report noted that there was a "death threat" made against one of the passengers, but dismissed this as a factor, stating that there was no evidence that the aircraft had been sabotaged or tampered with. The crash of VH-BBA was the first of a spate of accidents - four in all - involving MU-2s that occurred in Australia between 1988 and 1994, all caused by icing on the airframe which caused the airspeed to decrease to the point where each aircraft stalled and entered a spin. Three of the four crashes resulted in fatalities. Sources: ATSB investigation report 198800143; aviation-safety.net website

2009 The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Anthony Albanese released the "Flight Path to the Future" National Aviation Policy White Paper on 16 December 2009. The government claimed this "marked the first time an Australian Government has brought together all aspects of aviation policy into a single, forward-looking statement". The white paper included four sections: aviation and economic development, safety & security - the highest priorities, aviation infrastructure, and aviation and sustainability. The white paper recommended that the 49 per cent foreign ownership restriction on Qantas remain in place and laid the groundwork for increased security measures at airports. Source: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, and Local Government white paper INFRA-09124, ISBN: 978-1921095-96-2, https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/publications/national-aviation-policy-white-paper-2009