SAFA SkySailor Magazine

28 SKY SAILOR March | April 2024 Sadly, since the last edition of SkySailor, we have had two fatal accidents in our community. The last time we had a fatality was March 2021. These events are never easy, and understandably our members want to know what happened and if there are factors that may affect them. If, at the time of the accident, there is a clearly identifiable factor relating to the airwor- thiness of an aircraft or piece of equipment, we will issue a safety notice. If you don’t see such a notice, you can safely assume that there is not an immediate identified danger in any of the equipment involved. Unfortunately, we cannot quickly provide further answers, and it is perhaps time to again outline why this is the case. Whenever there is a transport accident, be it in aviation, rail or whatever, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau would usually be tasked to investigate the circumstances, report to the Coroner’s Courts and publish findings. However, this is not the case in the Sport and Recreation aviation sector. The ATSB has a budget they need to work to and cannot assign resources to investigate our accidents. They can assist us on request when we have questions regarding technical aspects, such as failures of materials. Whenever a serious or fatal accident occurs, the police of the jurisdiction involved will take charge. It is important for us all to know that in the case of a fatal accident, the site becomes a crime scene. Where a fatality has occurred, it is imperative that people on site do not disturb the body and equipment and leave everything as they find it. The Operations Manual s5.3 gives further guidance. The police are the investigators in these matters, and SAFA’s role is to assist the police in their inquiries. We provide them with information and documents and assist in equipment inspections if requested. The police prepare a report for the coroner, and the coroner will determine if an inquiry is required or can be dispensed with. We, SAFA, will wait until a matter before the Coroner’s Court is finalised and their report is in our hands before we make any comment on the circumstances of the accident. The Coroner’s Courts around the country may take several years to conclude their deliberations and issue their reports. Sometimes we are advised when these matters are concluded, but usually not, and it takes extensive search- ing through the Courts’ websites to identify concluded cases. This is why it may take some years before you read about an event in these pages. Whether a matter is concluded or not, we will not investigate an accident and issue findings. We will conduct a review of all the available evidence and reports (coroner’s or others) and publish learnings and safety recommendations. This is an important dis- tinction from the ATSB. The ATSB, its activities and staff are governed by the Transport Safety Investi- gation (TSI) Act of 2003 , and the associated Transport Safety Investigation Regulations Fatal accidents & AIRS processing by Iain Clarke – SAFA Safety Management Officer