The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will open a fresh investigation into the ditching of a Pel-Air Westwind corporate jet off Norfolk Island in 2009.
The decision to reopen the case was made following a critical review of the original inquiry by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), which found the ATSB did not follow proper process and had poor oversight during the investigation.
“A new investigation team will review the original investigation and associated report in the light of any fresh evidence and relevant points raised in the TSB review and other recent aviation reviews,” the ATSB said in a statement on Monday.
“At the same time, the ATSB Commission will continue to methodically and carefully work its way through the broader findings and recommendations of the TSB review, with the aim of ongoing improvements to the future work of the ATSB.”
A Senate committee also the released a scathing assessment of the original investigation.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss told Parliament last week he had asked the ATSB to reopen the case.
