Transair chief summonsed to inquest

Monday, 18 June 2007 04:51

The four-day Coronial inquest into the Lockhart River air tragedy on Thursday Island last week ended on a positive note for families of victims with the announcement the former CEO of Transair had been summoned to appear before the inquiry in Brisbane later this month.

Mr Wright has been living and working in PNG, and there was considerable concern he might not return for the inquest.

He could not be forced to appear at the inquest while living overseas.

Families, inside the packed court room and in the Court House foyer when the proceedings were being televised, cheered at the announcement by Coroner Michael Barnes.

Mr Barnes told the hearing Mr Wright has been found in Cairns and served with a summons to appear at the inquest when it resumes next week.

Earlier in last week’s hearing, a spokeswoman from the Office of the State Coroner said: “The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has identified a number of failings on the part of Mr Wright that, it says, may have contributed to the crash.

“The State Coroner believes it is important Mr Wright respond to these concerns. The inquest stands ready to receive his evidence and will adjust its programme to accommodate him,” she said.

Should he decide to appear before the Coroner, Mr Wright could claim privilege under which he might not give any evidence at all, or alternatively could give evidence which would not be used in final determinations.

Thirteen passengers and two crew died when the Transir-owned and operated Metroliner III crashed into a peak in the Iron Range National Park on May 7, 2005 under the banner of Aero-Tropics.

Aero-Tropics essentially only sold tickets for their flights, with Transair leasing every facet to them, including the aircraft, crew, maintenance and even the fuel. Transair has since ceased to operate.

Much of the hearing during the four days of the sitting centred on the evidence of ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) senior investigator Greg Madden who told the inquest that Transair’s pilot were poorly trained and the company’s safety systems were very poor.

Mr Madden said the inquiry could have been prevented if Civil Aviation Safety Authority had met a commitment it made in 2000 to provide better guidance to its staff.

In evidence, he said CASA had failed to identify serious problems in Transair.

The court was told Transair had failed to act on warnings nine months earlier about the problems which have been regarded as having contributed to the disaster. These included a lack of supervision, no follow-up training and their knowledge and skills were poor.

Mr Madden accused Mr Wright, who was the CEO, of seemingly not appearing to “actively promote” a safety programme.

In other evidence, Mr Madden said:

Chief Pilot, Brett Hotchin, might have been flying too fast

The pilots probably did not hear the terrain warning alert,

The pilot could have been disoriented and was flying lower and faster than he should have,

The disaster could have been averted if the aircraft had featured a terrain alerting warning system which were due to become mandatory about two months later.

 

 

 

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