Airservices Australia (Airservices) advised that a diversion in these circumstances would not generally trigger controllers or supervisors to increase their monitoring of conditions at the alternate. The visibility then fluctuated before dropping below 1,000 m at 0947. This speaks volumes about their integrity and character. In fact, Table 1 shows that for the last month of available parallel measurements the electronic probe (Tmax-Probe) often recorded considerably warmer than the mercury thermometer (Tmax-LIG). To get other months or places not on this web site, contact us. (Weather station: Mildura Airport, Australia). The adjustments only ever go one way. In addition, the BoM uses a non-standard method of recording temperatures from such devices. In situations where crew are primed to search for information, it is more likely that considered decision making will occur in a less stressful environment and that the associated workload will reduce. This assessment resulted in the controller passing the latest SPECI for Mildura to all of the aircraft on frequency at 0935, which included Velocity 1384 and Qantas735. This resulted in enhancements to Virgins flight planning and flight following policies, re-organisation of the flight following section and expansion of communication infrastructure across the Virgin fleet. In this instance, the controller did not pass the AIREP to incoming aircraft nor to their supervisor, who could have informed BoM of the deterioration. Given the uncertainty about the duration and trend of the weather deterioration, the decision of the crew of Velocity 1384 to hold and of the crew of Qantas 735 to attempt a landing were both reasonable. After realising that the fog at their original destination of Adelaide Airport would not clear prior to their arrival time, the flight crews of Velocity 1384 and Qantas 735 initiated a diversion to Mildura Airport, Victoria. Copyright 2014 - 2022 Jennifer Marohasy. They then continued to collect weather updates for various ports, including Mildura, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide. Given the TAF only had a 30 per cent probability of fog, and as the aircraft was in the sterile cockpit phase of flight, flight watch did not pass the TAF to the crew at this point. On the day of the A320 occurrence, moisture levels were higher to the north of Adelaide, with fog forming at Edinburgh at 0730. At this time, a SPECI was issued for Mildura, showing visibility was now 900 m in fog and that the cloud was overcast at 100 ft AGL. The availability of SPECI from an ABS meets the requirement for in-flight information service. have the term METAR or SPECI appended to the report by the BoM before their distribution, including to ATC, via the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network. Pilots can ask ATC for any relevant weather information via the onrequest service. Mildura Weather Forecast, VIC 3500 - WillyWeather. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Qantas 735 had not departed Sydney when the amended TAF for Adelaide was issued at 0700; however, they had entered the sterile cockpit[20] phase of flight. The 0358 amended TAF for Mildura that morning forecast light winds and scattered cloud at 3,000ft and broken cloud at 6,000 ft. The visibility and cloud detected by the AWS was broadly consistent with the SPECIs that were available at that time as both were generated from the same data source. The BoM forecaster replied that they believed the fog would clear as stated in the TTF. As the Mildura AWIS was not broadcasting, application of the lower minima could only be applied if the actual QNH was obtained from ATC. This was on the basis that, given their arrival time, it would not affect the flight. VH-YIR was fitted with satellite communications (SATCOM) equipment that supported telephone and ACARS equipment. At 0800, the BoM issued an updated trend forecast (TTF)[4], which showed that fog had reduced visibility at Adelaide and was expected to clear by 0900. The crew of Qantas 735 had been monitoring the Mildura weather through ACARS and heard the transmission by ATC of the METAR information to Velocity 1384. A review of the ATSB occurrence database showed that in the vast majority of cases, once aware of any non-normal situation, controllers initiated appropriate action to support flight crew. The declaration of an emergency, including due to insufficient fuel, enables ATC to understand the nature and extent of the situation. The flight following policy was rewritten. As such, there is still a reliance on services such as FIS to provide pilots with an appreciation of deteriorations in weather at certain airports. Before departure from Singapore, the TAF for Perth Airport predicted a 30 per cent probability of fog after 0200 Western Standard Time[23]. Therefore, pilots are required to understand and recognise the reporting mechanism and interpret its operational significance for AWIS reports. The captains relevant aeronautical experience is outlined in Table3. The changes also resulted in any SPECI report that was available from an ABS not being sent automatically to a controllers workstation. The captain reported hearing this information but did not pass it to the FO on their return. Information gathered by the flight crew about the conditions at Adelaide from multiple sources continued to show a forecast improvement from 0900. Light winds becoming southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the morning then becoming light in the middle of the day. Short haul domestic operations, particularly those under 90 minutes duration, were provided with updated weather and operational information on a workload permitting basis. AIP GEN 3.3 sections 2.5.4 and 2.5.5 detailed the hazard alert service provided by ATC as part of ATC-initiated FIS. 9669 4082, by fax on (03) 9669 4515, or by email on
[email protected] We have taken all due care but cannot provide any warranty nor accept any liability for this information. please use the search box to find your location and then click "set as my default location" on the local weather page. At 0948 the crew of the Dash-8 asked Qantas 735 for their assessment of the weather. 2 tank 433 kg remaining. Figure 6: Overview of the Automatic Weather Station outputs and end user products. How did they design a probe to match a glass thermometer without such a comparison and at which site? Please use Mid Murray 2% AEP depths (m . On board were six crew members and 85 passengers. In such cases there is a residual risk that the aircraft may be compelled to land in conditions below the landing minima. The visibility then started to increase, with the first SPECI showing no fog, but with mist and overcast cloud at 100 ft being issued at 1048. Centralised Aerodrome Weather Information Service (C-AWIS) Project (completion expected 2015/16 FY). This imbalance was likely the result of the crossfeed valve being opened by the crew. A routine weather report (METAR) is issued at fixed times, hourly or half hourly. The article stated: Aviation special weather - SPECI, which can be obtained from an automatic broadcast service (ABS), no longer needs to be directed or broadcast to aircraft by ATS [air traffic services]. Air traffic information is not provided. Perceived conflict information between TAF and TTF as TAF can mention probabilities of 30 and 40 per cent, whereas TTF is a forecast of the most likely outcome over the next three hours. A further amended TAF was issued for Mildura at 0952 and covered the period 10002200. Other formats To print this page, get the PDF version (one page, 45 kb ). promulgated low visibility procedures for the conduct of CAT III ILS approaches. At certain airports, an Aerodrome Weather Information Service (AWIS) provides actual weather conditions via telephone or broadcast on VHF radio. 2 main wing tank remained constant. VH-VYK was fitted with a very high frequency (VHF)/ aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS), which was routinely used by Qantas flight operations and flight crew. This resulted in the need for both Qantas 735 and Velocity 1384 to land in conditions that were below minima. Additionally, aspects such as aircraft holding time and the number of traffic movements also need to be taken into account to determine the operational effect and risk of any inaccuracy. The ATSB reviewed each of the independent systems in place to support the flights, including air traffic control (ATC), the operators and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), as well as the actions of individuals within these systems. Where this service is available, air traffic services will generally not alert pilots to significant deteriorations in current weather conditions at such airports, increasing the risk of pilots not being aware of the changes at an appropriate time to support their decision making. Mostly sunny morning. As such, when the crew of Velocity 1384 initiated the diversion to Mildura Airport, they had not confirmed sufficient fuel to meet the TEMPO requirement. While this is theoretically possible, to know if it is being achieved in practice it is necessary to analyse parallel measurements i.e. At altitudes above 10,000 ft in Australia, an aircrafts height above mean sea level is referred to as a flight level (FL). Virgin and Qantas each had a fuel policy within their operations manual, which specified the minimum fuel required, including the necessary fixed fuel reserves. Specifically, ERSA section 4 Hazard alerts (GEN-FIS-2) and Jeppesen Meteorology reports and advisories section 4.4, Hazard alerts defined hazard alerts without specifying that they were limited to a sudden change to a component of FIS not described in a current MET product or NOTAM. In part, these included: (b) FISE: the exchange on the FISE [flight information service en route] frequency of information pertinent to the en-route phase of flight. By this time, the flight crew had gathered the latest information about the conditions at Adelaide from multiple sources, which continued to state a forecast improvement from 0900. The other airports in the area reporting suitable weather were Mildura, Broken Hill and Woomera. However, it is also worth noting that the on-request service is workload dependent, and is therefore not guaranteed. It is possible for incorrect values to appear. This includes weather and operational information for the destination, which should be considered prior to a decision point or point of no return. The captain reporting obtaining about 6.5 hours sleep the night prior to the occurrence and being well rested. Observations; Sydney Observations; All NSW Observations; Rainfall & River Conditions; VIC. Certainly not when temperatures are soaring! Mildura Observations. AIP GEN 3.5 paragraph 4.1 defined aerodrome weather reports as: reports of observations of meteorological conditions at an aerodrome. The Virgin operations manual included a requirement for crew to check there was sufficient fuel remaining on board to continue to the destination at the point of no return. The MATS also indicated that responsibility for issuing a hazard alert rested with the responsible ATS unit. Distance measuring equipment or marker beacons along the approach provide distance information. However, given the observations of significantly better weather at Mildura, they also concluded a diversion was a better option at that time. Despite not being passed the updated weather information from their flight operations centre, the crew of Velocity 1384 had two opportunities to become aware of the deterioration in Adelaide prior to being notified at 0844 by the Tailem Bend controller. The Mallee controller who was responsible for the airspace above Mildura did not pass this information on, either internally or directly to BoM. Given the speed at which it developed, the fog was forecast to lift in about 12 hours. As with the broadcast of weather observations via ATIS, an AWIS does not append the words METAR or SPECI to weather observations that are broadcast via AWIS. At this time the aircraft was about 156 NM (289 km) to the east-north-east of Adelaide Airport. number of redundancies available in the event of a system component failure. These broadcasts normally cease either after 1 hour or after an updated MET product or NOTAM is available, whichever occurs earlier. The Pilot in Command may adjust the DPA to be a geographical point, other than a position on the Fuel Flight plan (i.e. Forecast for the rest of Saturday Summary Partly cloudy. However, as the deterioration was forecast to improve prior to their arrival, it is likely that, at that stage, they would have elected to continue to Adelaide. The meteorological information obtained from an Aerodrome Weather Information Service (AWIS) is operationally equivalent to that provided in routine (METAR)/special weather (SPECI) reports. Latest Weather Observations for Mildura IDV60801 Issued at 9:22 am EDT Monday 16 January 2023 (issued every 10 minutes, with the page automatically refreshed every 10 minutes) About weather observations | Map of weather stations | Latest weather observations for VIC | Other Formats Station Details ID: 076031 Name: MILDURA AIRPORT Lat: -34.24 Both aircraft had the necessary equipment to conduct at least a CAT II (fail passive) autoland at Adelaide and both flight crews were trained and approved in Cat II/III autoland procedures. The ARO was calling to query why aircraft were diverting to Mildura given the conditions. The second was the issue of an Aeronautical Information Circular, effective 12 March 2009 that was intended to provide education on changes to the delivery of the SPECI and ARFOR elements of the ATC initiated Flight Information Service (FIS). Likewise, when the 0800 TTF was issued showing fog, both aircraft were still outside this 60minute arrival time. Potts, R, Boneh, T, Manickam, M, Miao, Y, Newham, P & Weymouth, G. Application of Bayesian Networks for fog forecasting for aviation in Australia. Himawari-8 provides observations that enable the Bureau to create true-colour images of the Australian region, every ten minutes, based on reflected visible light. Note: A Suitable Airport may be, in order of priority: an Alternate Airport, following an approach and missed approach at destination, if the destination requires an alternate; or. VOLMET broadcasts provide meteorological information for Australian major international airports and contain METAR/SPECI or trend forecast (TTF) information and the availability of SIGMETs[26]. 1 main wing tank. Dr. Marohasy, The actions of the flight crew of the second Virgin aircraft to query ATC about the weather update for Adelaide were consistent with this advice. When a TAF is issued that is valid for the period 1800 to 2400 UTC (04001000 EST), any current code grey forecast is superseded by that TAF. This TTF forecast that the fog would now remain until 0930. An AWIS is a transmission of actual weather conditions, as measured by automatic weather stations (AWS),[25] via either telephone or radio broadcast from selected sites. Madden Avenue Service Centre108 Madden Avenue, Mildura VICAustralia
similar occurrences to that at Mildura in June 2013. encounter with unforecast weather, including VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions. The aircraft had departed Brisbane at about 0630 that morning and carried sufficient fuel for the flight to Adelaide. As the wind was forecast to tend southerly, and fog and low cloud were rare in a southerly flow at Mildura, the decision was made to continue with the current TEMPO. Special Holding Fuel (when required). So, there is no reading from a mercury thermometer for Mildura for 23 September 2017. Figure 1: Approximate aircraft positions at 0700, when the amended forecast for Adelaide was issued with a 30 per cent probability of fog, Figure 2: Approximate aircraft positions at 0800, when the trend forecast for Adelaide was issued with fog conditions forecast to lift at 0900, Figure 3: Approximate aircraft positions at 0900, just prior to initiating the diversion to Mildura. The BoM Aeronautical Services Handbook (ASH), which is available as guidance for staff, lists the priorities for the provision of services. The exchange between ATC and Qantas735was not captured on Velocity 1384s cockpit voice recording as it only recorded the 2hours preceding engine shutdown. Forecast Areas Map Observations Melbourne Observations All Victorian Observations Rainfall & River Conditions QLD QLD Weather & Warnings Warnings Summary Forecasts Brisbane Forecast Qld. At 0954, the controller made another all stations broadcast with the latest TAF issued for Mildura, valid from 1000. The highest annual total for such events was nine, as recorded in 1956 and 1983. This display, together with an explanation of the LOW FUEL, FUEL CONFIGURATION and FUEL IMBALANCE indications, is expanded at Figure 5. Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS). Although no safety issue was identified by the ATSB, the Bureau of Meteorology advised of the following safety action in response to this occurrence: Although the TTF and TAF are forecasts for the same aerodrome, they convey different information concerning the probability and timing of meteorological phenomena. It cautioned that pilots must consider that time period when complying with the requirement to obtain information on which to base their operational decisions. During the period prior to the occurrence involving VH-YIR and VH-VYK, there were several amendments to the AIP regarding the provision of FIS. To me it appears that the bureau is either incompetent or deliberately misleading. Meteorological Information for Aircraft in Flight (VOLMET). 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