The Lockhart River air disaster occurred on 7 May 2005, when Aero-Tropics Air Services Flight 675 crashed while on approach to land at

Lockhart River Airport Lockhart River Airport (also known as Iron Range Airport) is an airport in Lockhart River, Queensland, Australia, located approximately north of Cairns on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula. Being so remote with the road to Lockhart ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, on a ridge known as South Pap 6

nautical miles A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today t ...

(11 km) north-west of the airport. All fifteen on board died as the aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and subsequent fire. The

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (previously the Swearingen Metro and later Fairchild Aerospace Metro) is a 19-seat, pressurized, twin-turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild Aircraft at a plant in San ...

commuter aircraft, registered was owned by Transair Ltd and operated by Aero-Tropics. The flight was scheduled from

Bamaga Bamaga ( , ) is a small town and locality about from the northern tip of Cape York in the north of Queensland, Australia. It is within the Northern Peninsula Area Region. It is one of the northernmost settlements in continental Australia and is ...

on Cape York to the regional centre of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, with a stopover in Lockhart River. It was the worst air crash in Australia in 36 years since

MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750 On 31 December 1968 a Vickers Viscount aircraft departed from Perth, Western Australia for a flight of 724 nautical miles (1 341 km) to Port Hedland. The aircraft crashed 28 nautical miles (52 km) short of its destination with the ...

on 31 December 1968.

Investigation

The Queensland Coroner's Inquest in 2007, found that, despite evidence that there were a number of issues leading up to the crash, pilot error was the prime cause. Families of those who lost their lives in the disaster have been highly critical of the Coroner's findings and the deficiencies in the operations of the regulator, the

Civil Aviation Safety Authority The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is the Australian national authority for the regulation of civil aviation. Although distinct from the government, it reports to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport. CASA is responsibl ...

(CASA), and the poor company structure and practices of Transair Ltd. The investigation was aided by flight information from the aircraft's

flight data recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

. As the

cockpit voice recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...

was unserviceable, and had been for some time, the conversations occurring between the flight crew will never be known.

Senate inquiry

As a result of intense lobbying by the father of one of the victims, Constable Sally Urquhart, and others, the Australian Senate's Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee resolved to conduct an inquiry into the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, its operations and other matters. The Inquiry was convened on 2–3 July 2008 at Parliament House, Canberra. As well as Mr Shane Urquhart's submission, there were sixty others which were considered by the Inquiry. The vast majority of the submissions were highly critical of most aspects of CASA's operations. Several people and organisations, including Mr Urquhart, supported their submissions in person at the Inquiry. In September 2008, the Committee Chair, Senator Glenn Sterle, released the report of the inquiry to the Transport Minister Mr

Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...

and the public. The recommendations from the report are:
:1. That the Australian Government strengthens CASA's governance framework and administrative capability by: ::a. introducing a small board of up to five members to provide enhanced oversight and strategic direction for CASA; and ::b. undertaking a review of CASA's funding arrangements to ensure CASA is equipped to deal with new regulatory challenges. :2. In accordance with the findings of the Hawke Taskforce, that CASA's Regulatory Reform Program be brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible to provide certainty to industry and to ensure CASA and industry are ready to address future safety challenges. :3. That the Australian National Audit Office audit CASA's implementation and administration of its Safety Management Systems approach.

Further incidents

Following the Lockhart River crash, Transair in Australia went into liquidation in late 2006. Aerotropics also no longer operates because the Civil Aviation Safety Authority cancelled its Air Operator Certificate due to ongoing safety breaches. Transair continued to operate its PNG business until 31 August 2010 when the company's Cessna Citation ran off the runway on landing at

Misima Island Misima (formerly called St. Aignan) is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. History Misima Island was inhabited by Austronesians since about 1500 BC. The island was sig ...

near Milne Bay,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The previous owner of Transair in Australia, Les Wright, died along with three others in the ensuing inferno. There was one survivor.

Notes

References

Sydney Morning Herald
* Finding of Inquest
Inquest into the Aircraft Crash at Lockhart River
Office of the State Coroner 17 August 2007 Brisbane, Queensland * Senate Committee Report: Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
"Administration of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and related matters"
September 2008 {{Aviation accidents and incidents in 2005 Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Aviation accidents and incidents in 2005 Accidents and incidents involving the Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner Aviation accidents and incidents in Queensland Disasters in Queensland Far North Queensland 2000s in Queensland May 2005 events in Australia 2005 disasters in Australia