Crash Scrutineer Flew For Airline He's Investigating
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday June 14, 2000
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 he flew about 12 charter flights for the airline between 1995 and 1997.
It was also learnt yesterday that , the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) reinstated Mr Kym Brougham as the company's chief pilot after he promised he had become more mature.
The approval was granted on April 10 seven weeks before the May 31 crash in which eight people died after an exchange of letters and emails with CASA officials, who, according to sources, said they accepted Mr Brougham had changed his attitude to regulations.
This was despite CASA's own findings in 1997 that he was contemptuous of licensing conditions and failed to roster and train crew properly.
``They had noticed a considerable change in his attitude and a much more positive attitude and willingness to commit to measures that improve safety," a source said yesterday.
Within a month, and on the basis of a ``desk audit", the temporary approval was upgraded to a permanent status because the company's chief pilot left the airline.
Mr Armstrong, meanwhile, is now in Adelaide as part of the team that has begun examining wreckage of the Piper Chieftain that crashed into the Spencer Gulf. He is handling the investigation into ``flight operations".
A spokesman for the transport safety bureau, Mr Peter Saint, said Mr Armstrong had told officials the night before he joined the team of his previous involvement with the company.
``The senior officer didn't think there was a conflict of interest, but in hindsight we would certainly agree there might be a perception," Mr Saint said.
``But we have no question about Bob's ethics and integrity. He is still working on the job as the flight operations man and there are two senior guys above him."
The president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Mr Bill Hamilton, said Mr Armstrong should stand aside from the investigation.
``I am not making any imputation against Armstrong, but in terms of credibility of the investigation you can't have someone who departed from the airline involved in the investigation. It is a very poor management decision."
CASA has so far refused to release details of its correspondence with Whyalla Airlines or copies of reports that cleared Mr Brougham to be reinstated as chief pilot.
But the airline applied on January 31 to have him reinstated as a ``back-up" when another pilot resigned. ``The January letter said he had worked hard to restore his relationship with CASA and had changed maturity," an industry source said.
© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald
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