Thanks Chris. Ian P ----- Original Message ----- From: Christopher H Thorpe To: 'Discussion of issues relating to Soaring in Australia.' Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:48 PM Subject: RE: [Aus-soaring] accident rate for gliders in Australia
It seems to me that most of us get to hear about accidents and their likely causes quite soon after they happen, predominantly through this forum. While I do not vouch for the accuracy of the following recollection, I suspect it is not too far off the pace. 2004 Astir near Bendigo · Tried to thermal away from low height on early (first?) cross-country flight. Spun in from a height too low to recover. 2005 IS29 near Dalby · Tried to thermal away from low height on a cross-country flight in a glider in which the pilot had limited experience. Spun in from a height too low to recover. 2005 Janus at Gympie · Low in circuit on passenger flight. Passed up earlier opportunities to land only to spin in from too low a height to recover when attempting an outlanding. 2005 LS7 near Benalla · Mid-air collision during lead and follow. Both pilots aware of each other. Collision possibly due to misjudgement when one joined the other in a thermal. 2006 Blanik at Lockhart · Collision with winch wire. Non-standard circuit procedures involving landing from opposite end to take-off while winch was operating. Apparently no one identified the risk in this practice. 2006 Alpin at Caboolture · Non-GFA pilot trying to operate RAAus registered motor glider in glider mode without appropriate training. Spun in from a height too low to recover. 2006 Mosquito at Gulgong · Stalled and spun off a winch launch. 2006 Stemme near Camden · Mid-air fire, probably caused by leaking fuel hose. Said to have occurred previously in this type. 2007 Pucatek at Keepit · Overran runway into fence. As I recall, Bruce Taylor, in a post at the time, related some possible causal factors. The above is essentially a brief synopsis of what (If my recollection is correct) happened. However, we are also interested to know why each accident occurred so that we may take the lessons on board to prevent a repeat. However, reading this list one would have to notice that none of these accidents is new - similar accidents have occurred in the past - so why haven't we been able to stop them? In the above cases, did an accident occur because pilots pushed the margins? Were they distracted, or suffering an illness, or became incapacitated? Was it over confidence, inexperience or poor training? Was it weather/environment related? Was it airworthiness related (like the Stemme accident)? The list goes on! In many cases we are unlikely to ever know the real reason why these accidents occurred or the factors leading up to it. On the other hand, there will be some cases where it is quite clear why the accident occurred and then we need to consider was there culpability, ineptness, unforeseen circumstances, or other "human factors" at work. It is unrealistic to expect such in-depth analysis of such very basic accidents. It is also unrealistic to expect someone within the GFA to pen a report for all to see pointing blame at a particular individual or organisation, for in the end any such analysis is mostly an hypothesis and open to challenge or litigation. Someone earlier mentioned the UK, USA and German gliding authorities publish accident reports. If you take the time to look, you will notice these reports are provided by the AAIB, NTSB and the German Ministry of Transport - the foreign equivalents of the ATSB. I do not see the National Soaring body authoring these. In Australia, accident reports produced by the ATSB are subject to certain legal privileges that protect the authors and cannot be used against individuals or companies for any role they may have played in a transport safety occurrence. The GFA is not afforded and cannot provide such protection. To quote the ATSB."Because many accidents are repetitive in nature, investigating these in any detail may not be justified, given the bureau's limited budget. In such cases, the ATSB will not necessarily attend the scene, conduct an in-depth investigation or produce an extensive report." Gliding accidents tend to fall into the category of "repetitive in nature", so the lessons should already be known. I must disagree with the assertion that the GFA is doing nothing to alert members. In fact, GFA is actively reviewing and analysing accident data - or do you really believe your RTOs merely file accident reports? The results can be seen in the new series of Operational Safety Bulletins issued from time to time. The Safety Seminars are also used as a forum for disseminating such information and are open to all members, albeit it is acknowledged that not every member is able to attend. Similarly, discussion is also had at the NGS Seminars. Through these various mediums the message should be filtering through. And as for our Queensland members, I recall the GFA president recently provided them with a specific presentation on accident statistics and what the GFA was doing. Hardly "Silence" as Jeremy would have us believe. Christopher Thorpe From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Thompsons Sent: Thursday, 19 April 2007 4:58 PM To: aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net Subject: [Aus-soaring] accident rate for gliders in Australia Does anyone think that the fatal accident rate for gliders has reached a crisis point: 9 Fatalities in the last 4 years 2004 Astir near Bendigo 2005 IS29 near Dalby Janus at Gympie LS7 near Benalle 2006 Blanik at Lockhart Alpin at Caboolture Mosquito at Gulgong Stemme near Camden 2007 Pucatek at Keepit It must be the worst run of accidents in gliding history? and what is GFA's response? silence Jeremy Thompson DDSC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________________________ Aus-soaring mailing list Aus-soaring@lists.internode.on.net To check or change subscription details, visit: http://lists.internode.on.net/mailman/listinfo/aus-soaring ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. 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