ppointed Chief
Commissioner
on 1 July 2016, I
was humbled yet
immensely proud
to be given the
opportunity to
lead a world-
class transport
safety investigation agency. As
the accountable authority, I am
acutely aware that the ATSB’s
primary function is to improve
transport safety with priority
given to delivering the best safety
outcomes for the travelling public.
Having worked at senior
positions in other agencies within
the transport portfolio for an
extended period of time, I was
also cognisant of the agency’s
operational environment and the
associated challenges. It was within
this context that I determined the
ATSB needed to be repositioned
to face these challenges – through
a well-considered and consulted
change program.
Over the past 12 months,the ATSB has undertaken
a significant transformation
designed to enable better resource
allocation and utilisation across
the agency. A number of change
imperatives underpinned this
program that provided the impetus
to refine our business practices and
expand our deliverables.
In demonstrating increased
effectiveness, we have become
more selective in how we allocate
resources towards investigating
those accidents and serious
incidents that have the greatest
potential for safety learnings and
enhancement. Concurrently, we
have expanded our capacity to
improve transport safety outside
of these traditional investigations,
through safety issue investigations,
through greater interaction with
operators and regulators, with
data and other intelligence in our
possession, and through amplified
communications, education and
promotion.
Focusing on general aviation
(GA) for a moment, in the first sixmonths of this year we’ve already
seen 94 serious incidents and
accidents involving this sector.
These included the Grumman
Mallard accident in Perth’s Swan
River, a Cessna Conquest accident
near Renmark, an Angel Flight
Tobago accident near Mt Gambier,
two Cessna 172 accidents, one at
Agnes Waters and the other which
collided with terrain at Ballina,
and a Beechcraft King Air which
impacted the roof of a shopping
complex not long after taking off
from Essendon Airport – just to
name a few.
Of frustration to us, is the
number of times we see the same
contributing factors, particularly
decision making in relation to
weather resulting in VFR into
IMC and associated loss of control.
I have been in the aviation
industry my entire working life, in
service provision, regulatory and
senior management roles and the
past year has provided me with
further learning opportunities.
In March, I attended the tragicscene at Essendon. This afforded
the opportunity for me to see
first-hand the complex, intricate
and critical work of our dedicated
Transport Safety Investigators. I
am in awe of my staff ’s diligence
and professionalism in the face of
such tragedy as they went about
their work to determine the causal
factors contributing to the accident.
The ATSB’s greatest resource
continues to be ‘its people’ and
we have embraced a change to
our operating model introducing
a multi-disciplined teams-based
approach to transport safety
investigations. We are well on the
way to creating an environment
where our employees are
empowered and provided greater
opportunities to bring to bear
their collective core investigative
skills, shared values, passion
and drive to improve transport
safety. This equally applies to
our dedicated and professional
operational support staff.
Through the Government’s
recent 2017–18 budget measure
“improving transport safety”, the
ATSB has been able to secure
a stable financial operating
environment for the next four
years. The funding will enable
the ATSB to re-commence
recruitment following a self-
imposed recruitment freeze and
re-profile our capital investment
strategies to meet projected needs
in essential technical equipment,
data warehousing requirements
and core enterprise systems.
I am looking forward to
continuing to learn and grow in
my role as Chief Commissioner of
the ATSB. The years ahead will
be exciting and challenging for the
ATSB and I remain confident that
the continued professionalism
and capability of our people will
ensure we remain a world-leading
transport safety investigation
agency to deliver the best safety
outcomes for the travelling public.ATSB – one year at the helm
Short Final GREG HOOD
Greg Hood, Chief Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Australian
Transport Safety Bureau, talks about his first year in the position and his
concerns that general aviation pilots need to learn more from recent history.82 australianflying.com.au
AUSTRALIAN FLYING November – December 2017A
February's King Air tragedy at
Essendon was one of 94 incidents
and accidents in the first half of 2017.ATSB