Year: 2023

An investigation by the transport safety watchdog determined that the Robinson R44 VH-IDW, which was on a mission to collect crocodile eggs near the King River in February 2022, likely ran out of fuel while Wilson was in a sling line below the helicopter, causing the engine to stop.

Flight VJ89 from Ho Chi Minh City touched down in Perth just before 2:30pm on Tuesday aboard the A321neo VN-A646 before continuing to Adelaide at 3:51pm, arriving just before 9:30pm local time. The carrier will operate the return service five times per week.

The aircraft, VH-DZJ (pictured), collided with another S-211 in mid-air approximately 12km west of Mount Martha in southeast Melbourne and went down, while the other aircraft, VH-DQJ, returned safely to Essendon. Pilot Stephen Gale and cameraman James Rose are presumed dead.

CASA will work with Airservices Australia to reclassify the space around Ballina and establish an approach control service by 12 June 2025, followed by a new digital aerodrome control service no later than 27 November 2025.

Flight AB1755 touched down in Launceston shortly before 2:30pm on board VH-UIK ‘Bazza’, having left the Gold Coast at 11:16am local time. The service will operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and is Bonza’s first foray outside NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

The carrier will fly direct from Perth to Singapore, Phuket, and Bangkok starting in 2024, and will open a new WA base for at least 60 pilots. It is also planning to base four aircraft in Perth, including the A321neo LR, to build on its domestic and international operations from the west coast.