On the morning on 23 June 2015, the crew of a Bombardier DHC-8, registered VH-XFQ, prepared for a flight from Perth to Darlot, Western Australia. For the 3 days preceding the occurrence, they advised going to bed by 2000. With 1,500 kg of fuel remaining, the aircraft landed without incident in the fog with 250350 m visibility. In New Zealand, FIS is defined as: 3.3.7 FIS will include the provision of available and relevant information concerning: (b) weather conditions reported or forecast, at departure, destination, and alternative aerodromes; (Table GEN 3.3-3 lists aerodrome MET information available in-flight on request from ATS). The latest weather forecast is available at www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts. Unless early consideration was given to a return to Adelaide Airport for an emergency autoland approach, a landing below minima at Mildura Airport was the only option at Mildura Airport. a PNR [Point of No Return]), if necessary. 1 tank had 887 kg and the No. They say that they have conducted their own tests/comparison, and their electronic probe is comparable to mercury. Flight planning was required to take into account the requirements for holding fuel in lieu of the requirement to nominate an alternate. The flight crew of Velocity 1384 also conducted an instrument approach and landed below minima in fog and with fuel below the fixed reserve. OVERLAY Radar - Rain - Beta. Specifically they are required to ensure the fuel available on board the aircraft is sufficient to proceed to an aerodrome where a safe landing can be made with the planned fixed fuel reserves remaining. Phone:(03) 5018 8100
Primarily this will be achieved through the on-request service, supplemented by the ATC-initiated FIS when possible. The in-flight weather report given by the air ambulance pilot was not passed to the flight crews of Velocity 1384 and Qantas 735 by the controller when they changed frequency inbound to Mildura Airport, removing an important source of information for flight crew planning and decision making. In assessing the magnitude of the change, Airservices identified a potential failure of the pilot does not obtain in-flight information, with the effect that the pilot is not aware of significant weather information. This query was made on the same frequency as was being monitored by Velocity 1384 at the time. The AvCam project [will] provide an additional tool for forecasters to assess current weather conditions, including fog, to supplement human observations or other automated present weather sensors and instrumentation. Based on this information, the forecast for TEMPO conditions was continued. Safety issues, or system problems, are highlighted in bold to emphasise their importance. Particular emphasis was placed on prioritising and disseminating information, including the need to document these actions to ensure an accurate record and a common understanding between controllers and supervisors. To achieve that objective, the BoM produces and supplies relevant operational meteorological information to operators, flight crew, air traffic services units, search and rescue services, airport management and others concerned with the conduct of air navigation. Shortly after both crew initiated a diversion to Mildura, the BoM released an amended TAF for Mildura, removing the TEMPO requirement. This speaks volumes about their integrity and character. The controller subsequently reported initially continuing to give priority to aircraft separation. Although the captain of Velocity1384indicated that there was sufficient time to assess the option of returning to Adelaide, there was only a matter of several minutes available to make that decision and track towards Adelaide. When Velocity 1384 departed Brisbane for Adelaide, the TAF that was current at the time showed favourable conditions for arrival and did not require the nomination of an alternate airport. Harris, D & Li, WC 2015, Decision Making in Aviation, Ashgate Publishing. Slight chance of a shower. Section 10.2.4 contained the caveat that: It should be remembered that the controllers primary function is to provide safe separation between aircraft. It should be noted that there was insufficient detail in some of the reports to identify if the crew was alerted to the unforecast weather. Virgin advised that a review of their operations identified no systemic issue in relation to flight crew seeking weather information. This information was reported back to the crew of Qantas 735 as including a visibility of 700 m in fog. That is, conditions that were forecast to be below the alternate minima, were actually observed to be above those minima. The flight crew of Velocity 1384 did not obtain updated weather information for Adelaide while en route and were therefore unaware of the weather deterioration affecting the airport, limiting the options and time available to plan a diversion to an alternate destination airport. For long haul operations and those flights to islands, Asia and from the east to the west coast of Australia, flights were actively followed. As such, the action to not pass this information to Velocity 1384 was provided for by the Virgin dispatch manual. The 0358 amended TAF for Mildura that morning forecast light winds and scattered cloud at 3,000ft and broken cloud at 6,000 ft. Observations were drawn from Mildura Airport {station 076031}. Instead, pilot awareness of the implications for the flight of the reported weather conditions is crucial to effective in-flight decision making. Velocity 1384 departed Brisbane, Queensland at 0638 Eastern Standard Time[1] and had six crew and 85 passengers on board. It should be noted that while these actions were being carried out, the crew were also managing air traffic and making decisions relating to the occurrence of fog at the airport. Exposure to weather conditions below the landing minima at Mildura was found to be very unlikely during the period studied. The FO of Velocity 1384 raised the TEMPO as an issue with the captain; however, at that time the captains attention was on another matter and the TEMPO was not discussed. At the time of writing, the results of this research for Mildura Airport were available and are summarised below. TCZMONTH Page 1. On this basis, and the additional information gathered by the meteorologist, flight operations did not pass the 0800TTF to the crew of Velocity 1384. This map will be updated as more accurate modelling becomes available. At 1002, Velocity 1384 transmitted that they were on a 4 NM (7 km) final for the RNAV GNSS approach. [8] As the AWIS for Mildura was not broadcasting due to an unserviceability, the inbound aircraft could not obtain this information from the AWIS (see the section titled Aerodrome weather information service). This TAF predicted similar conditions as the 0303 forecast, but with the addition of a 30 per cent probability of fog developing. Mildura 14 Day Extended Forecast. Manual checking a Mercury thermometer is not my job. An ATIS provides normal operational information for the airport terminal area. The FO mentioned the TEMPO during the crews discussion of the diversion to Mildura; however, at that time the captain was conducting a separate calculation and the crew did not discuss the TEMPO requirements any further. The 0800 TTF indicated fog as it was considered imminent and formed at 0804, which was reflected in a SPECI issued at 0805. An automated pre-recorded transmission indicating the prevailing weather conditions at the aerodrome and other relevant operational information for arriving and departing aircraft. By the time that clearance was available, the remainder of the runway was obscured by fog. In addition, the Adelaide aerodrome forecast (TAF) valid at the time retained a 30per cent probability that visibility would reduce in fog. These are useful, for example, for identifying fog and low cloud, which may not be visible in thermal infrared images because it has a similar temperature to the ground below. The provision of flight information service by New Zealand ATC and the precedence afforded the provision of ATC services over FIS are consistent with the service provided by Airservices. The dispatcher on duty for 18 June 2013 was appropriatelyqualified and had over 4 years of experience, most of that with Virgin Australia Airlines Pty. Civil Aviation Regulation 1988 (CAR) subregulation 257(4) specified that if an element of the meteorological minima for landing is less than that determined for the aircraft operation at the aerodrome, the aircraft must not land at that aerodrome. At this stage, the company meteorologist called the BoM to determine their confidence in this clearance and also reviewed other information sources to determine the possible impact of fog on the arrival of Velocity 1384. By this time, the flight crew had gathered the latest information about the conditions at Adelaide from multiple sources, which continued to state a forecast improvement from 0900. There was only one occurrence found where the pilot believed they should have received greater assistance from ATC, however that occurred in the context of high controller workload and potential miscommunication between the pilot and ATC about the situation. 2 main wing tank been consumed, the position of the crossfeed valve at OPEN would have ensured fuel was supplied to both engines from the No. Slight chance of a shower. . Given the nature of the emergency, this allowed the crew to land despite the low visibility conditions. The systems supervisor was completing the final day of a 2day endorsement check for the position, and operating under supervision at the time of the occurrence. A Boeing 737 aircraft had been able to land on runway 05 following a VOR/DME approach, so the A320 crew attempted to conduct a similar approach. The HGS displays certain aircraft parameters such as altitude and airspeed, and is useful during low visibility operations as it allows the captain to scan the outside environment while also viewing relevant parameters on the HGS. Ultimately the responsibility for collecting information, such as weather updates, to support in-flight decision making remains with the pilot in command. On the basis of the weather forecasts at the time the aircraft departed Brisbane, there was no requirement to provide for an alternate airport to Adelaide. Mildura Weather. It could be expected that the results from this ongoing research effort may assist regulators and industry make informed decisions about the need for further infrastructure at major Australian airports. After the amended TAF was issued, the BoM meteorologist located within the National Operations Centre at Airservices Australia (Airservices) rang the relevant BoM forecaster to discuss the conditions at Mildura Airport. The investigation title has been amended to reflect this expanded investigation focus, which will include examination of the: A preliminary factual report into the circumstances of the occurrence is anticipated by 18 July 2013, and the final report is expected to be completed within 12 months. In addition, both had a flight following (flight watch) service for long haul operations (typically international) and limited following for short haul domestic operations. The meteorologist had worked in the Virgin operations control centre for a total of about 8 years. This included that a special AIREP should be made when requested, or as soon as practicable after encountering a condition which is likely to affect the safety or markedly affect the efficiency of other aircraft. These included that at all times inflight onboard fuel shall not be less than: The Pilot In Command is required to assess, prior to DPA [Designated Point All Engines Operating] based on a Suitable Airport, that the above Minimum Mandatory requirements will be met at DPA. The automatic broadcast services did not have the capacity to recognise and actively disseminate special weather reports (SPECI) to pilots, thus not meeting the intent of the SPECI alerting function provided by controller-initiated flight information service. These included in the areas of: A review of the ATSB occurrence database was conducted for the period January 2009March 2015 in order to determine the number of unforecast weather occurrences reported in this time. Web. The United States (US) AIP that was current at the time of the occurrence listed the various areas of FIS that were provided to pilots in the US. The ATSB has been advised of the following proactive safety action in response to this occurrence. This was in response to the 0800 TTF that showed fog with a predicted improvement from 0900. Fog had not been forecast for Adelaide when the crew submitted their flight plan. 2 tank 18 kg remaining, with an imbalance of 576 kg. As MATS did not require the provision of SPECI reports at airports that have an ABS such as AWIS, in order for pilots to become aware of a deterioration, they must either access the AWIS or request those observations from ATC. The ATSB also found that in certain weather patterns and at certain locations, fog is both rare and difficult to forecast reliably. - Occurs when fuel quantity is less than 907 kg (2,000 lbs) in the related main wing tank. As such, the TAF that was valid at the time reflected a temporary period of low cloud that was expected to last between 30 and 60 minutes (TEMPO), rather than fog. At locations where there is no authorised observer, or where the observer is not available, the observation generated has the word AUTO preceding the observation. This ATCinitiated flight information service (FIS) (see the section titled Airservices Australia) extends to aircraft within 60 minutes of the condition or destination. Fax:(03) 5021 1899
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