The Lockhart River air disaster refers to the controlled flight into terrain

Controlled flight into terrain

Controlled flight into terrain describes an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, water, or an obstacle. The term was coined by engineers at Boeing in the late 1970s...

 (CFIT) in northern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 of a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner

Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner

The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....

 commuter aircraft at 11:44 am on 7 May 2005. The aircraft, registered VH-TFU, owned by Transair Ltd and operated by Aerotropics, was on approach to land at Lockhart River Airport

Lockhart River Airport

Lockhart River Airport is an airport in Lockhart River, Queensland, Australia, located approximately 800 km north of Cairns on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula...

 in far-north Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 when it struck the ridge known as South Pap, 6 nautical miles (11 km) north-east of the Airport. All fifteen on board died as the aircraft was completely destroyed by impact forces and subsequent fire. The flight was returning from Bamaga

Bamaga, Queensland

-Language:The community languages of Bamaga are Kalaw Kawaw Ya, Brokan , and English, particularly for education and government business.-Industry:...

 on Cape York to the regional centre of Cairns. It was the worst air crash in Australia in 36 years since MacRobertson Miller Airlines Flight 1750

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 to Port Hedland. The aircraft crashed 28 nautical miles short of its destination with the loss of all twenty-six people on board...

 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

Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...

 (CASA), and the poor company structure and practices of Transair Ltd. As the Cockpit Voice Recorder

Cockpit voice recorder

A cockpit voice recorder , often referred to as a "black box", is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in the flight deck of an aircraft for the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents...

was inoperable, and had been for some time, the events and 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 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 2005. Aerotropics also no longer operates as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority cancelled its AOC 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 near Milne Bay, Nuigini. The previous owner of Transair in Australia, Les Wright, died along with three others in the ensuing inferno. There was one survivor.