Transair was an

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

based in

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 ...

. 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 ...

cancelled the

Air Operator's Certificate An air operator's certificate (AOC) is the approval granted by a civil aviation authority (CAA) to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets, and system in pla ...

, at the request of Transair, on 4 December 2006.The Australian
5 December 2006 Transair ceased all operations from that date. This action followed investigations by the

and

Australian Transport Safety Bureau The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is Australia's national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air ...

into the airline's safety after the fatal accident of one of Transair's aircraft on 7 May 2005.

Former code data

IATA Code: JT

History

As of December 2006 the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has referred the owners of Transair, Lessbrook, to the director of public prosecutions for failing to report at least 25 incidents, as required by law, to the Bureau. These include seven reportable incidents between 1 July 2003 and the fatal crash on 7 May 2005, including gear failures, cabin pressurisation warnings and flap problems.

Flight International ''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...

12–18 December 2006 Transair provided aircraft for the

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

regional airline Big Sky Express, operating from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to Grafton,

Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distri ...

Gunnedah Gunnedah is a town in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 9,726. Gunnedah is situated within the Liverpool Plains, a fertile agricultur ...

and

Inverell Inverell is a large town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River, close to the Queensland border. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the No ...

. Transair was formally notified of the decision to suspend its Air Operators Certificate on 27 November 2006. As a result, Big Sky Express was forced to suspend airline operations and the majority of its routes were awarded to other regional airlines. The company no longer exists in Australia, but CEO Les Wright moved to

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 ...

where he continued operating Transair New Guinea.

Incidents and accidents

*7 May 2005 - A Fairchild Metro 23 crashed at

Lockhart River, Queensland Lockhart River is a town in the Aboriginal Shire of Lockhart River and a coastal locality split between the Aboriginal Shire of Lockhart River and the Shire of Cook, on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. In the , Lockhart River ha ...

, killing both crewmembers and all 13 passengers aboard. This aircraft was operating under the name of Cairns-based company Aero-Tropics, which is also under investigation by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA.) Despite evidence that Transair's poor operational record and cost-cutting culture was a contributing factor to the Lockhart River crash, an Inquest by the Queensland Coroner found that Transair and its CEO/Chief Pilot/Check and Training Officer/Company Secretary had no responsibility for the incident. * 31 August 2010 - Former Transair principal Les Wright was killed on

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 ...

when his plane slid off an airstrip and crashed into trees.The Australian
2 September 2010

References

{{Airlines of Australia Defunct airlines of Australia Airlines disestablished in 2006

Former code data

History

Incidents and accidents

See also

References