CASA Head's Head Called for

So much is now known about the Transair MetroLiner terrain crash at Lockhart River, Queensland Australia which killed 15 in May 2005, that regulator CASA's impassive role has become clear. The airline's principal is now running with a similar operation in Papua Niu Gini after Transair was eventually closed down by CASA, some seven months after the accident. That closure was predicated upon an ongoing series of revelations about Transair that CASA should have been well aware of. Whistleblowers had been active for some time before the accident. Transair had even been found using aircraft that weren't approved for Regular Public Transport (RPT). The accident itself was characteristic of a cowboy operation with the aircraft crashing into a peak at around twice the speed of a normal stabilized instrument approach. Inquiries revealed that the pilot had a well-known history of similar non-stabilized approaches. The cockpit voice recorder hadn't been operative for months and the Flight Data Recorder had some parameters that had never worked. The list goes on...... and on. Transport Minister Mark Vaile has appointed a Task Force aimed at reforming CASA. Meanwhile CASA's head Bruce Byron had been at the tiller for years and supposedly embroiled in an expensive and ongoing regulatory reform, restructuring and re-orientation program. Byron blames the pilot and his contention is that CASA cannot do more than seek to change unsafe cultures through re-education. Nevertheless the Opposition Transport spokesman is calling for his resignation for failing to make it to any of his culture-changing milestones. For Related Info, see the 09 Apr 07 Air Safety Week ("Profile of an Avoidable Accident").