Year: 2023

The incident in March, which saw Defence’s entire Taipan fleet grounded, has been found to have been caused by a faulty engine part. Reports have confirmed, however, that the engines on the Taipan that crashed near Lindeman Island in July were both “running normally”.

Australian Army personnel have deployed from Townsville and Brisbane, alongside two Royal Australian Air Force C-130J aircraft, as part of Defence’s support to the Australian government’s response to the Hamas–Israel conflict.

The GPS-assisted approach allows planes to descend gradually over a longer flight path, as opposed to the normal stepped descent which requires planes to thrust their engines at each new altitude. Continuous descent approaches thus reduce engine noise and increase fuel efficiency.

Brisbane international traffic was 81 per cent of pre-COVID-19 figures in September, and the airport anticipates an extra 1.3 million international seats to be added to and from the city over the coming 12 months as airlines increase capacity and roll out new services.

The joint venture, in place since 2015, will be wound up following signals from the competition watchdog last month that it would not extend its authorisation on the grounds that the deal would provide the “opportunity and incentive to increase prices”.

Babcock pilot Shaun Willson discusses how operational decision-making between the medical team and aircrew during a complex medevac are critical when a patient’s life is at stake.