AHSA Monthly Meeting 16 Sep 2020 (Derek Buckmaster: The Wirraway “Newspaper War”)

DerekB16/09/202027/12/2022

Derek Buckmaster gave a presentation on The Wirraway “Newspaper War”.

The AHSA September monthly meeting was held online via Zoom. A recording of the meeting is included below (click the image below to view the video):

1942 Avro Anson Mk I AW678 operated by 2 Air Observer Squadron RAAF crashed at Reedy Creek, 19 Km SE of Kingston, South Australia on 11 August 1942. The cause of the crash is unknown. The aircraft was totally wrecked and immediately caught fire. All five crew members died in the crash: 23964 Sgt. William Nathaniel Higham Flemming, 405197 Sgt. John Edward Moorhouse, 410476 L/Ac. Charles Thomas Fletcher, 410473 L/Ac. William Ross Bremner Fenton, and 416804 Sgt. Malcolm Albert Thiele. This was the third fatal aircraft accident involving an aircraft from 2 AOS. Source: aviation-safety.net website

2006 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a study on aviation safety statistics on 11 August 2006 which showed that Australia’s fatal accident and fatality rates were mostly similar to the corresponding rates of the other countries examined. Using North America and the United Kingdom to represent world’s best practice and as a benchmark of aviation safety, the findings claimed to demonstrate that Australia had a good safety record. Source: ATSB, ‘International Fatality Rates: A Comparison of Australian Civil Aviation Fatality Rates with International Data’, Aviation Research and Analysis Report B2006/0002, 11 August 2006. via aph.gov.au website

2008 CASA said that it had taken no decision on changing the procedures to be used in airspace when normal air traffic control services were not available, in a news release issued on 11 August 2008. It said that a report in the Australian newspaper that procedures have been changed was not correct. The report said that CASA had decided to restrict the number of passenger jets in uncontrolled airspace by requiring ASA to declare a temporary restricted area when no controller is available. The article said that ASA blamed staff absences for the continuing problem, while the controller’s union blamed poor management. ASA maintained that the use of a procedure known as Traffic Information Broadcast by Aircraft (TIBA) - when air traffic control services were temporarily unavailable - was safe. Source: Cameron Stewart, ‘Air restrictions fly in face of safety claims’, The Australian, 11 August 2008, p.15. CASA, ‘No decision on changes to airspace procedures’, Media Release, 11 August 2008. ASA, ‘Airspace Procedure Assurance’, Media Statement, No. 07/08, 11 August 2008. Cameron Stewart, ‘CASA delays jet restrictions’, The Australian, 12 August 2008, p. 14. via aph.gov.au website

2009 Nine Australians and four other persons died on board an Airlines of Papua New Guinea Twin Otter flight CG4684 that crashed into rugged terrain on 11 August 2009. The ATSB assisted the PNG Accident Investigation Commission report. Source: I Gridneff, ‘PNG issues Kokoda air crash report: six-month wait for final findings’, Canberra Times, 19 September 2009, p. 10. via aph.gov.au website