The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has discontinued its investigation into a light aircraft accident in which a passenger was fatally injured during a forced landing on a beach at Ball Bay, Queensland on 24 December 2021.
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau conducts independent ‘no-blame’ investigations into accidents and incidents for the purpose of identifying safety issues and actions and to help prevent the occurrence of similar future accidents, and we do not investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory or criminal action,” said ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell.
“In this tragic accident ATSB investigators established quite quickly that the aircraft, an amateur-built two-seat Jodel D11, was being operated outside of aviation regulations.
“The pilot was not licenced to fly aeroplanes and the aircraft and engine had not been maintained in accordance with the appropriate regulations for about 10 years.
“On that basis, the ATSB has determined that there was limited opportunity that continuing to direct resources at this investigation would uncover safety learnings for the broader aviation industry.”
Mr Mitchell said investigators also determined during their examination of the aircraft wreckage that the passenger’s seat belt had completely failed at 2 locations.
“Both the pilot and passenger’s seat belts were manufactured in May 1973 and were required to be removed from service prior to 1 January 1990 in accordance with a Civil Aviation Safety Authority airworthiness directive.
“When owners operate outside of the rules, they remove the built-in safety defences and undetected problems are more likely to emerge,” he concluded.
