You should read the important information in these notes. During the period prior to the occurrence involving VH-YIR and VH-VYK, there were several amendments to the AIP regarding the provision of FIS. It is a bit hard to fathom. View the current warnings for Victoria. And they fail! AIP GEN Section 3.3.1 stated that FIS will be provided whenever practicable to all aircraft that are known to be affected by the information. Virgin flight watch personnel reported receiving and reviewing this TAF when it was issued. The safety issue identified during this investigation is listed in the Findings and Safety issues and actions sections of this report. An ATIS provides normal operational information for the airport terminal area. The flight crew of Qantas 735 conducted an instrument approach and landed below minima. At 0700, when the amended TAF for Adelaide was issued, Velocity 1384 was established at flight level (FL) 400 in the cruise. I am shocked that as late as the 90s and 2000s they were not taking every precaution in preservation of a national and world treasure. Distribute short AIREPs originated by general aviation pilots to: the MET office responsible for MET watch over the area, the briefing office associated with the area. As both aircraft were committed to landing at Mildura by this time this would not have influenced the occurrence. In almost all cases, the landing was made with fuel above the fixed reserve. It might be worth asking Anthony Watts if he knows of any from his US Surface Stations Investigation. This includes river heights. This alert is used to notify flight crew of a sudden change to a component of FIS, not described in a current MET product or NOTAM, having an immediate and detrimental effect on the safety of an aircraft. This SPECI indicated broken[9] cloud at 200 ft and that the visibility was now 2,100 m in mist. They were provided with two routine (METAR) reports for Mildura, which indicated conditions were suitable for an approach, with cloud above the landing minima and visibility in excess of 10 km. As a result of its developing understanding of the occurrence, the ATSB has commenced the following safety action:Safety forum regarding the provision of operational informationThe ATSB is planning to convene a safety forum in respect of the provision of operational information to the flight crews in this occurrence, and more generally. In. The BoM reported that fog was not included in the 0700 TTF as the surface winds did not support the formation of fog. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to elders both past and present. The crew of Qantas 735 had started collecting weather information proactively prior to this point. 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. Partly cloudy. Non-normal procedures that are deemed time critical contain memory items for actioning by the crew before referencing the QRH. The 0954 amended TAF was passed to Mildura traffic by the Mallee controller once it was released by the BoM. However, they could request it through The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System. Instead, pilot awareness of the implications for the flight of the reported weather conditions is crucial to effective in-flight decision making. A signal from an aircraft to the ground station is used to calculate its distance from the ground station. That change was to reflect the availability of ABS and amendments to ATC-directed FIS. Web. As previously stated, given the forecast conditions at Adelaide Airport, the flight crews of Velocity1384 and Qantas 735 were not required to carry fuel for an alternate. Certification for various levels of autoland is dependent on a number of factors. In addition, CASA clarified that there was no strategic difference between an in-flight scenario and a pre-flight plan in relation to the use of forecasts. In response, in December 2008, Airservices conducted a Safety Case Assessment and Reporting Determination (SCARD), which was required whenever: changes to service levels, procedures or equipment, which will affect the performance, functional or technical specification of a system or service; and organisational changes affecting safety accountabilities. The ILS transmitter was a Category 1 unit with a minimum visibility of 1,200 m required for landing. The ATSB has been advised of the following proactive safety action in response to this occurrence. The captain reported their recent sleep as normal and that they obtained about 7.5 hours sleep the night prior to the occurrence. The ATSB found that the weather deterioration at Adelaide did not appear on the forecast when both aircraft departed their respective ports and furthermore the forecast duration of the fog in the later, amended forecast showed a clearance time earlier than actually occurred. The alternate minima for runway 27 at Mildura for large jet aircraft were 1,233 ft and 6 km if the forecast QNH was used. Sun & Moon. 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. At about 0630 on 18 June, ATC at Parafield and Edinburgh Airports, to the north of Adelaide, began to advise BoM forecasters that visibility was reducing in fog. influence on the flight crews decision making of that information flow. Consequently, the aircraft did not carry fuel for holding at Adelaide or for diversion to an alternate airport. Light winds. Unit Settings . This was my thought exactly after reading Jennifers Spectator article. An advanced hardware and software system that is used by Airservices Australia to help manage domestic and international flights in Australian airspace. This information was reported back to the crew of Qantas 735 as including a visibility of 700 m in fog. That article highlighted the 60-minute flight time restriction on the provision of information. Winds southerly 20 to 30 km/h becoming light in the late evening. PS The silence accorded the Bureau by the mainstream media for all of their indiscretions is much more complete than that ever accorded Barnaby Joyce. In this instance, that would have increased the risk of the starvation of fuel to the No.2 engine late in the approach or on landing due to the low fuel level in the No.2 main wing tank at that time. Why would any bureau not use worlds best practice to measure temperatures? For the remaining short haul domestic operations, primarily under 90 minutes flight time, the flight following service was considered as available, and was dependent on flight watch personnel workload at the time. While runway 16 at Melbourne Airport met the requirements of flight instrument procedures requiring autoland capability, on the morning of the occurrence, the forecast for Melbourne was for low cloud and a 30 per cent chance of fog until 1000. A review of Trend Forecast services was undertaken through a consultative process with the aviation industry and the Australian Defence Force. VH-YIR was fitted with satellite communications (SATCOM) equipment that supported telephone and ACARS equipment. In order to provide some airline operators an advance notice about such low probability weather conditions that may interrupt flight operations, the BoM issues an aerodrome weather briefing (AWB) product and, if applicable, a code grey forecast. In addition, it is not possible for an ABS to recognise the importance of, and then actively disseminate SPECI information to pilots. Mild. The ATSB examined the training and guidance material available to air traffic controllers relating to the provision of air traffic services. 3.3.6 Where ATC units provide both FIS and ATC service, the provision of ATC service will take precedence over the provision of FIS whenever the provision of ATC service so requires. FIS in this context is: a method of receiving aviation weather and other operational data in the cockpit that augments traditional pilot voice communication with FAAs Flight Service Stations (FSS), ATC facilities, or Airline Operations Control Centers. The document described specific flight information regions in which the procedures were to apply, each having a section that was further divided into chapters dealing with specific topics. 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. They further noted that they would not expect crew to conduct a fuel imbalance check during a fuel low situation, such as the occurrence flight, unless a fuel leak was suspected or identified. For example, a report showing an improvement in the weather may be useful to an aircraft in the holding pattern directly overhead the aerodrome, to decide on whether or not to fly the approach or not. By Julie Mercer. . This would indicate that the actions of the Mallee controller, which were reportedly influenced by workload, were not symptomatic of a systemic issue in the provision of flight information service (FIS). VOLMET provides meteorological information for Australian major international airports and Townsville via high frequency (HF) radio transmission. The BoM also advised that the forecast for the airport was recalculated twice overnight using the observed 2,000 ft wind speed and direction from the upper wind balloon flights at 2100 on 17 June and 0300 on 18 June. While the provision of FIS for known hazardous flight conditions is supplied to pilots, this is dependent on many factors, including controller workload. The transmission is prefixed by Hazard Alert. The FO reported a duty day on 16 June 2013 that included flying BrisbaneMelbourne and return with approximately 7 hours duty time. On 23 September 2017, a new record hot day for Victoria was claimed at the Mildura airport using an electronic probe in an automatic weather station (AWS) housed in a Stevenson screen. Officers may, at times, experience situations not specifically covered whereby the safety of an aircraft may be considered to be in doubt. While the BoM has never released reports with parallel data supporting the claim of equivalence, in late October and early December 2017 a first and second lot of A8 forms were released to me this followed my request to Minister Josh Freydenberg on 26 September for parallel measurements, and more specifically on 22 October for these A8 forms immediately after I was informed by a whistle-blower that these forms contained the relevant information. Due to other instrument flight rules traffic, ATC could not issue an immediate clearance for the approach. Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) Australia GEN 3.3, Section 2 FLIGHT INFORMATION SERVICE contained information about the provision of a flight information service (FIS). The ATSB calculated that, at 0918 when the first SPECI associated with the low cloud at Mildura was issued, Qantas 735 had sufficient fuel to hold at cruise altitude until about 0955 then return to Adelaide and complete an emergency autoland with the fixed fuel reserve intact. At the time that Velocity 1384 and Qantas 735 switched to the Tailem Bend frequency, the last enroute frequency before Adelaide Approach, the controller queried both crews awareness of the fog at Adelaide Airport. Sun protection recommended from 9:30 am to 5:40 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 11 [Extreme], Sun protection recommended from 9:30 am to 5:50 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 11 [Extreme]. Cloud cover is normally reported using expressions that denote the extent of the cover. They should be taking, and reporting, parallel measurements to confirm that the probes are measuring the same temperatures as a mercury thermometer would. Those practice approaches were carried out in conditions equal to or better than the CAT I minima. In the climb out, such as the air ambulance pilot departing Mildura Airport on the morning of the occurrence, the AIP specified that a pilot must report meteorological conditions, not previously advised, which are likely to affect the safety of aircraft operations. The DME or GNSS arrival had a circling minima of 980 ft for large jet aircraft. 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). Light winds becoming southwesterly 20 to 30 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the evening. 2). Observations for Mildura (beta) Map View MetEye. Please use Mid Murray 2% AEP depths (m . A ground-based transponder station. promulgated low visibility procedures for the conduct of CAT III ILS approaches. Completing the fuel imbalance checklist with low fuel on board would have resulted in the closure of the crossfeed valve (see appendix B). As a result, the crews were compelled to land at Mildura in conditions below the minima permitted for landing, with Velocity 1384 also landing below their required fuel reserves. On board were six crew and 146 passengers. BoM records at the time showed that Adelaide Airport averaged 4.9 fog events per annum. The crews of Velocity 1384 and Qantas 735 reported having placed a greater weight on the observation reports for Mildura, given the ongoing forecast issues for Adelaide. In addition, the BoM uses a non-standard method of recording temperatures from such devices. #5 of 11 B&Bs / Inns in Mildura. The trend was for visibility to decrease to 500 m in fog before clearing at 0900to a visibility in excess of 10 km and few cloud. The captain was the pilot flying and the first officer (FO) was the pilot monitoring. Velocity1384 landed at Mildura at 1014, in fog conditions. On the morning of the occurrence, the upper air wind flight at 0300 measured the 2,000 ft wind as being outside the fog formation envelope of the fog forecasting procedures. The aisle supervisors were appropriately endorsed and current for their role, which included oversight of the en route sector controllers. As the TAF had a 30 per cent chance of fog and the TTF issued at the same time forecast no deterioration, they elected not to pass the amended TAF to the crew of Velocity1384through ACARS. The fuel on board at take-off from Sydney was 7,900 kg, as recorded on operational documentation. As such, no analysis or findings are included in this update. For regional airports, such as Mildura, the BoM relied on satellite imagery, in addition to other data, to provide indications of fog. ISO 17025) for any of its AWS. These, and other factors, are investigated in detail in ATSB research report AR-2013-200. They simply shout louder the same flawed (or worse) story. There is also a note stating METAR QNH does not meet this requirement. This was on the basis that, given their arrival time, it would not affect the flight. This was in response to the 0800 TTF that showed fog with a predicted improvement from 0900. They are typically used in long haul operations due to the extended flight time between departure and arrival. View the current warnings for Victoria. Welcome to Kar-Rama Motor Inn, a nice option for travellers like you. In the US, FIS is available from four types of service providers and operates independently of ATC, but in some cases will be a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)operated service. 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. The crew of Qantas 735 applied a revised minimum to the approach that was 200 ft lower than that published. Most broadcasts are continuous and the information is updated every minute. Readers are cautioned that new evidence will become available as the investigation progresses that will enhance the ATSB's understanding of the accident as outlined in this web update. Flight watch personnel at Virgin reported reviewing this TAF for applicability to Velocity 1384. Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS). This imbalance was likely the result of the crossfeed valve being opened by the crew. Evidence from the relevant ATC enroute sector recorded radio communication showed that controllers were providing inbound aircraft within 60minutes of Adelaide Airport with advice of an amended TAF and of ongoing SPECIs. The meteorologist had worked in the Virgin operations control centre for a total of about 8 years. 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