Qantas – Aviation Historical Society of Australia

DerekB30/11/202327/12/2023

Outlook AHSA Newsletter November 2023

The November 2023 edition of Outlook / AHSA News was distributed to members recently. This edition can be read online in the viewer below....

1975 Piper PA-28-140 VH-STG crashed at Wongan Hills, WA on 1 September 1975. The aerodrome at Wongan Hills is situated immediately to the north of the town and there is evidence to suggest that, about the time the aircraft took off, patches of low cloud and fog were moving from the south over the town and towards the aerodrome. The aircraft took off to the south and shortly afterwards it was heard, and briefly observed, flying over the town at a low height below and in the vicinity of low cloud. The engine noise was initially normal but it was heard to change and this change was almost immediately followed by the sound of a crash. Arrangements were made to search for the aircraft but, by this time, the aerodrome was shrouded in fog. When the fog lifted at about 0815 hours, the wreckage of VH-STG was located some 100 metres to the west of the southern end of the strip from which the aircraft had departed. The aircraft had struck the ground in a steep nose down, left wing down attitude. Detailed examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of pre-impact structural failure, malfunction or mechanical failure which could have contributed to the accident. The probable cause of the accident was that the pilot, who was not qualified for flight in other than visual meteorological conditions, operated the aircraft in weather conditions which precluded continual visual reference being maintained. There were 3 fatalities. Sources: ATSB; aviation-safety.net website

2003 Air traffic controllers and some pilot groups rallied against the proposed NAS changes on 1 September 2003, claiming them to be unsafe. This came as the Government responded to the Airspace 2000 report of the Senate Transport References Committee. Source: Australian, 26 September 2003. Sydney Morning Herald, 30 September 2003. via aph.gov.au website

2008 In response to the Qantas incidents of the previous two months, following a special review, on 1 September 2008 CASA ordered Qantas to make a range of improvements to the way it managed and delivered aircraft maintenance. CASA said it would conduct two additional intensive audits of Qantas. The first would be a full maintenance audit of one aircraft of each major aircraft type in the Qantas fleet – a Boeing 747-400, 737-400 and 767-300. The second audit would focus on the effectiveness of Qantas maintenance systems in managing and implementing airworthiness directives. CASA also called on Qantas to report on how the recent failures to fully comply with airworthiness directive requirements had been addressed. Source: CASA, ‘QANTAS safety review actions’, CASA media release, Monday 1 September 2008. Peter Lloyd, ‘Safer to fly now than the old days’, Canberra Times, 29 August 2008, p. 15. John Wood, ‘Sense of foreboding in the air as watchdog muzzled’, Canberra Times, 25 August 2008, p. 11. Gerard Frawley, ‘NOTAM–Safety Perceptions’, Australian Aviation, October 2008, p. 4. via aph.gov.au website