aaus rpas in australian skies...in july 2015, heron successfully operated from the class d airport...
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Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB)
welcomes the opportunity to present at
AAUS RPAS in Australian Skies17 July 2019
Greg Hood Chief Commissioner and CEO
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Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
What happened 21 years ago in
August-September 1998?
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In 1998, Global Hawk operated daily for a three week period from
RAAF Edinburgh, SA to Shoalwater Bay, QLD at flight levels
integrated with civil airline traffic
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Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
What happened 4 years ago in July 2015?
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In July 2015, Heron successfully operated from the Class D Airport
at Rockhampton for a six week period to Shoalwater Bay
integrated with civil and other military traffic
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In July 2015, Heron successfully operated from the Class D Airport
at Rockhampton for a six week period to Shoalwater Bay
integrated with civil and other military traffic
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RPAS today – ATSB overview
• ATSB governance
• Commissioners
• Aviation safety
• ATSB RPAS use
• What the ATSB is seeing
in RPAS Safety
• ATSB RPAS
investigations
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Australian Transport Safety Bureau
Australia’s national transport safety investigation agency
The ATSB’s purpose is to improve the safety of, and public
confidence in, aviation, rail and marine transport through:
• the independent investigation of transport accidents
• safety data recording, analysis and research
• fostering safety awareness, knowledge and action.
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Governance
• Established under the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003
• Independent Commonwealth statutory agency
• Accountable to the Parliament through the Minister for
Infrastructure and Transport
• Operate under a “no-blame” philosophy
• Governed by a Commission
• We are a “doing” agency, not an agency involved in the
development of policy
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Commissioners
Carolyn Walsh, Chris Manning, Greg Hood, Noel Hart
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Aviation safety
CASA ATSB
Regulator
May investigate an
incident for
compliance and/or
prosecution
purposes
No-fault investigator
May investigate an
incident to improve
safety and public
confidence
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Reports and notifications in 2018*
Aviation Marine Rail
Notifications 16,000 250 460
Transport
safety matters 6,000 180 -
REPCON
reports 100 2 35
* Estimated figures
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Active investigations: 153*
* As of 1 March 2019
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ATSB RPAS usemock accident site survey exercise
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ATSB RPAS use
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What is the ATSB seeing in
RPAS safety?
• We have investigated 11 RPAS occurrences (10 published)
involving RPAS in the past 7 years
• We have published 2 safety analysis RPAS research reports,
most recently in August 2017
• There have been no recorded collisions between RPA and
manned aircraft in Australia, but our research identifies the
growth in RPAS use as an emerging risk to transport safety
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All RPAS-related occurrencesJanuary 2024 to May 2019
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The ATSB data shows a jump in reported occurrences
from mid-2015
2014: 16
2015: 46
2016: 127
2017: 189
2018: 237Jan-May 2019: 121
Trend continues ~ 290
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Aircraft-RPAS near encounters
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Near encounters
• Comprise 68% of reported RPAS occurrences
• ATSB reviews RPAS collision research quarterly to
assess whether RPAS pose an acceptable risk to
manned aircraft
• If such a risk is determined, the ATSB will notify CASA
and the broader industry
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Near encounters
• Near encounters levelling off (slightly increasing)
• Majority (over 70 per cent) occur above 1,000 ft
• 60 per cent are reported to the ATSB by RPT operators
• Half occur near Sydney
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Near encounters
2014: 11
2015: 29
2016: 88
2017: 155 2018: 158
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Near encounters are primarily located around the major
airports
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RPAS terrain collisions
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Terrain collisions
• Number of terrain collisions is increasing
• Two-thirds are associated with a loss of control, datalink
loss or engine failure/malfunction
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Terrain collisions
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Terrain collisions
2014: 3
2015: 11
2016: 35 2017: 33
2018: 68
Jan – May 2019: 32
Trend continues ~ 77
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Terrain collisions: occurrence types
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RPAS investigations
• 10 completed and one current RPAS investigation
• First investigation involved an unmanned airship
• Proactive safety action taken by the operator as a result
of that investigation included: “source an airship from
another manufacturer that will provide training and
documentation”!
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Current RPAS investigation
• Current investigation is into the collision with terrain of an
Insitu Scan Eagle at Woleebee Creek, Qld
• At about 600ft above the ground, soon after launch, the
RPAS displayed airspeed abnormalities, stalled, and
collided with the ground
• Anticipated final report release this quarter
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Completed RPAS investigations
• Yamaha RMAX collision with terrain during spraying near
Canberra in April 2017
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Completed RPAS investigations
• The ATSB found that the tail rotor drive shaft probably
failed due to imbalances caused by damaged tail rotors
• Investigation’s safety message “highlights the
importance of reporting all incidents and accidents,
particularly to ensure adequate inspection and
maintenance is conducted before returning the aircraft to
operations”
• Manufacturer committed to implementing an online form
“so that operators can send information and notification
of incidents directly”
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Completed RPAS investigations
• Lockheed Martin Stalker XE collided with terrain near
Mount Disappointment, Vic, October 2016
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Completed RPAS investigations
• Communication between the GCS and aircraft was lost
for about 5.5 minutes during the launch phase
• A return to launch command was issued by the autopilot,
but was not completed, because a spurious command
was issued due to a coding error
• After 11 minutes at vertical climb power, the high current
overheated the wiring
• The heat unsoldered the negative main power cable
resulting in a total loss of electrical power
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Completed RPAS investigations
• The total loss of power resulted in a loss of control and
the aircraft collided with the ground
• As a result of the investigation, the manufacturer advised
it was redesigning the RPAS’ software
• ATSB safety message from the investigation “highlights
the importance of UAS software testing to cover potential
non-normal scenarios prior to release into operation”
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Completed RPAS investigations
• Pulse Aerospace Vapor 55 loss of control, Lighthouse
Beach, Ballina NSW, September 2016
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Completed RPAS investigations
• The south-eastern point used to georeference the image
on the ground control station map was selected to a
northern hemisphere latitude. This resulted in incorrect
waypoints and home position for the mission.
• The data-link signal to the ground control station was
lost, so the RPAS commenced tracking to the
programmed home position, which was in the Coral Sea
about 1,200 km north of the start position.
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Completed RPAS investigations
• Investigation highlighted that RPAS design should
minimise the opportunity for reference data errors to
occur, and for detecting and correcting errors that do
occur.
• Robust operational controls and procedures, underpinned
by risk assessment, will become increasingly important as
new RPAS applications emerge.
• RPAS operators should expect, and prepare for, data loss
events.
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Summary
• ATSB data shows the number of RPAS-related
occurrences in Australia is growing rapidly
• This presents an emerging and insufficiently understood
transport safety risk
• ATSB will continue to closely monitor RPAS-related
occurrences
• The ATSB uniquely understands the utility of RPAS, and
is positioning for the changing face of transport in
Australia with the rising use of remotely piloted aircraft
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Questions?