Staff reporter

VH-RRP, a Kubíček BB142P hot air balloon, sustained the 45cm tear while being cold-inflated prior to an early-morning flight near Beaudesert in Queensland on 18 October last year, and was patched up in the field with “specialised adhesive tape”, according to investigators.

The agreement will see Airnorth’s E170 and E190 aircraft provided with “comprehensive maintenance, repair and spare-parts support” through the planemaker’s Pool Program. Airnorth is one of three Australian airlines to operate the original E-Jets, alongside Alliance and NJE.

The aeromedical service flew more than 3 million kilometres and logged over 6,000 flight hours across the NT last year, with its Logistics Coordination Centre handling more than 200,000 calls. The organisation operates fixed-wing jets, turboprops, and rotary-wing aircraft.

Run in partnership with Aviation/Aerospace Australia, the Aviators in Schools program seeks to “bring real‑world STEM learning into classrooms and inspire the next generation of industry talent” with the hope of addressing the ongoing STEM skills shortage.

The new weighbridge infrastructure, reportedly big enough to allow for Defence’s largest vehicle combinations, can calculate axle and total gross weight as a truck drives on in about five minutes. It replaces old weigh scales not compatible with the current Defence MAN truck fleet.

Gobel Aviation (formerly Soar Aviation), which was liquidated after entering administration in late 2020, was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Victoria to have been responsible for a 2017 light plane crash that left student Edward Ripper traumatised and unable to pursue a commercial pilot career.