Deal Puts Whyalla Services In The Air

The grounded Whyalla Airlines has struck a deal with a Qantas subsidiary to provide flights between Adelaide and Whyalla. Airlines of South Australia will take over some Whyalla services under the arrangement. The two companies said there would be two flights each way on weekdays and one fli

Crash Just Minutes Before Landing

The Whyalla Airlines plane which crashed in South Australia last month killing all eight people on board was just minutes from landing when the pilot reported engine failure, a preliminary report revealed yesterday. However, the report, from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), gave n

Plane Crashed In Gulf `just Four Minutes From Safety'

The ill-fated Whyalla Airlines plane was just four minutes from safety when it plunged into the Spencer Gulf, killing all eight on board, a report reveals. The interim report into the May 31 tragedy was released yesterday by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. It said the 21-year-old pil

Propeller Mystery In Crash Inquiry

The two propellers of the ill-fated Whyalla Airlines plane were positioned as if both engines had failed when it crashed last month, government investigators have confirmed. But the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which today will release an interim report into last month's accident

Crash Scrutineer Flew For Airline He's Investigating

An investigator on the Whyalla Airlines crash inquiry once flew charter flights for the company, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau admitted yesterday. The bureau conceded there may be a ``perception" of a conflict of interest for Mr Bob Armstrong, one of its seven investigators, because

How Crash Airline's Pilot Got His Job Back

Whyalla Airlines persuaded aviation authorities to reinstate its chief pilot weeks before the crash that killed eight people, despite an official finding that his attitude to safety amounted to ``a fundamental incompatibility" with his position, and was unlikely to change. The Civil Aviation

United In Grief, Whyalla Mourns

WHYALLA Eight handmade candles, each bearing a single name, were lit on the Whyalla foreshore yesterday by families grieving for those who died at sea in one of South Australia's worst air disasters. About 4000 people from Whyalla gathered near the Whyalla Sea Rescue Squadron, headquarters of

Priest Slams Crash Coverage

Grieving families of those killed in the Whyalla Airlines plane crash sympathised with airline staff who were unfairly criticised after the accident, a Catholic priest said yesterday. Cleve Catholic minister Father Kevin Matthews hit out at media reporting of the tragedy at a funeral service fo

Casa's Role Under Scrutiny After Crash

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority's handling of the airline involved in last week's fatal crash in South Australia will be investigated by a parliamentary committee. The safety record of Whyalla Airlines and CASA's decision not to ground it in 1997 are expected to be included in the investigat

Five Bodies Found In Plane Wreck

Five bodies were recovered from the wreck of a Whyalla Airlines plane yesterday as mystery intensified about the cause of the crash that killed eight people. Police divers recovered the five as yet unidentified bodies from the wreck of a Piper Chieftain that crashed into Spencer Gulf last Wednes

All-clear Expected For Troubled Airline

Whyalla Airlines could be legally operating by the middle of the week, if as expected it is cleared by a Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) audit before the search for the wreck of Flight 904 and the bodies of eight passengers and crew has finished. The company is about to get the all-clear

Airline's Safety Under Scrutiny

Serious allegations about the safety record of Whyalla Airlines were raised yesterday, as police divers hunted for the Piper Navajo that went down off South Australia on Wednesday night with eight people aboard. It has been revealed the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) reinstated the sacked

Airline Defends Safety Record

Whyalla Airlines vowed to resume flights next week as it defended its safety record and the 21-year-old pilot of its plane that crashed off South Australia's coast. A second day of intensive searching of Spencer Gulf yesterday failed to locate wreckage of the twin-engine light plane that crashed

Chief Pilot Suspended 2 Years Ago

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority reinstated the suspended chief pilot of Whyalla Airlines, Mr Kym Brougham, in April despite finding in 1997 that he was contemptuous of licensing conditions and failed to properly roster and train crew, it has been revealed. CASA conceded last night that it ap

For Family And Friends, The Long Wait

WHYALLA It was an awful moment for the grieving relatives of the eight who died. As police briefed reporters, friends and family gathered around. In the harsh reality of a news conference, there are no comforting words, nothing to soften the blow. Just the facts. The family had watched as

Steel Union Chief Cheats Death

National steel union boss Graham Roberts believes he ``won the Lottery" late on Wednesday afternoon - but he's not celebrating. Instead, he's still trying to come to terms with the loss of his union colleague and close mate Neil Marshall aboard the ill-fated Whyalla Airlines flight. The t

The Luck That Parted Two Friends

Every two months or so Graham Roberts meets his friend and colleague Neil Marshall in Sydney and the two fly to Whyalla. They're on union business in a union town: Mr Roberts is president of the Australian Workers Union, Mr Marshall an industrial officer with the Metal Workers Union. They'd or