Accident Investigation Commission (AIC)

Chief Commissioner Hubert Namani made the announcement on Saturday 14th September.

“The helicopter, an Airbus Helicopters BK117-C1 operated by Tribal Aurora Helicopters, was reported to have departed from Buka Airport, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, at 10:15am on Friday 13th September en-route to Tokua Airport, East New Britain Province,” Namani stated.

This is one of the findings of the Accident Investigation Commission’s report into the crash of September 28^th, 2018.

According to the AIC, a total of 13 Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) aural alerts were disregarded.

Nine months after the PX73 crash in Chuuk, the AIC has finally concluded its investigation and released the anticipated Report into the accident.

The damaged left engine casing of the Dash 8 aircraft forced it to make an emergency landing on August 4, 2017.

The Accident Investigation Commission (AIC), in its final report, states that the licensee to the Bulolo Airstrip had neglected its primary responsibility of properly maintaining the airstrip, resulting in the bursting of a tyre which in turn affected the engine casing.

The report states that on August 4, 2017, the Link PNG operated aircraft completed a scheduled flight from Bulolo to Port Moresby.

The pilot, was flying a North Coast Aviation aircraft that crashed near the Saidor Gap, Morobe Province on Saturday 23 December.

Adverse weather and heavily vegetated steep mountainous terrain had severely hampered rescue efforts for nearly 3 days.

Ground and airborne search and rescue teams were unable to locate the missing aircraft until Sunday morning 24 December.

Observers, including an AIC investigator, in a North Coast Aviation PAC 750 fixed-wing aircraft reported sighting the aircraft’s tailplane.

According to the AIC a passenger and a bystander were seriously injured when the helicopter crashed during takeoff.

Initial reports received by Loop PNG  on Wednesday stated that both passengers of the helicopter were injured.

However in a statement, AIC Chief Executive Officer, David Inau, corrected the initial report

The MoU aims to provide clarity on investigations carried out by both entities dealing with aircraft accidents.

Under the Civil Aviation Act, the roles and responsibilities of the AIC and the CASA are defined. However, at operational level, there is a fine line between the investigations carried out by the AIC and that of CASA PNG.

The MoU also facilitates closer cooperation between the two entities in common areas such as sharing resources and aviation safety training.