Hobart Airport - Incidents of Aviation Fuel Jettisoning
Dear Australian Transport Safety Bureau,
I am led to believe the following:
• Pilots seek permission from Air Traffic Control to dump fuel from the aircraft.
• The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Airservices Australia enforce strict procedures on when and where fuel jettisoning can occur.
I have been advised your department also receive notification when these types of incidents occur.
Please provide all documents from between 1 Jan 2019 and 1 Jan 2024 where any incidents were reported, or permission was granted to jettison fuel from an aircraft travelling to or from Hobart TAS within a radius of 60km of Hobart Airport.
Yours faithfully,
Cathy Minnucci
OFFICIAL
Dear Cathy
Acknowledgement of Freedom of Information Request
We refer to your correspondence of 16 March 2024 (attached) to the
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act).
You have requested access to the following:
all documents from between 1 Jan 2019 and 1 Jan 2024 where any incidents
were reported, or permission was granted to jettison fuel from an aircraft
travelling to or from Hobart TAS within a radius of 60km of Hobart
Airport.
This email is to acknowledge receipt of your request. Your reference is
FOI 23-24(20). Currently a decision is due to you by 15 April 2024.
However, this timeline may be affected by the requirement to undertake
consultation with affected third parties or if the ATSB determines you are
liable to pay a charge in relation to your request. You will be notified
by the ATSB if charges are liable or if third party consultation is
required.
At this stage, the ATSB has not made a decision on, or determined the
scope of, your access application.
Processing Your Request
To assist us to streamline the processing of your request we ask you to
consider the following:
Requesting Personal Information:
Confirmation from you that you are not seeking ‘personal information’ (ie.
the names and contact details of any individuals, or any information that
could reasonably identify an individual) may enable a more timely and cost
effective processing of your request.
Therefore, could you please clarify if you are seeking access to personal
information in the documents relating to:
o third parties; and
o Commonwealth staff.
If you are not seeking access to any personal information, you can simply
reply to this email with ‘no personal information requested’.
If you are seeking access to specific types of personal information, could
you please specify.
If you specify you are seeking the personal information of Commonwealth
staff, please be advised the following is unlikely to be released:
o the names, signatures and contact details of junior staff; That is:
o Commonwealth staff who are not in the Senior Executive Service
(SES); and
o Ministerial staff below the level of Chief of Staff; and
o the mobile phone numbers of SES officers.
We look forward to your response at your earliest convenience but no later
than Monday 25 March 2024.
If you wish to discuss this matter, please contact the FOI team at
[1][ATSB request email], quoting file reference FOI 23-24(20).
Kind Regards
Sadia
FOI and Policy Officer
Legal, Governance and Strategic Policy
ATSB
12 Moore Street
Canberra City ACT 2601
E: [2][email address]
[3]www.atsb.gov.au
[4]@atsbgovau
Australia's national transport safety investigator
Dear FOI-ATSB,
I do not necessarily need personal information and am happy if it is blotted before release, but as real people need to communicate when a fuel dump is required, I do need copies where permission was granted / the mandatory Report that is filed following the incident and any other reporting or documentation that flows from this reporting process.
Details of any report would include: Date/Time/Aircraft/ Airline/ Area where dump occurred/ height of plane/ volume of aviation fuel ejected/ spread in KMs of dispersion.
Yours sincerely,
Cathy Minnucci
OFFICIAL
Dear Cathy
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (the ATSB) is currently in the
process of making a decision for your FOI request for access to:
all documents from between 1 Jan 2019 and 1 Jan 2024 where any incidents
were reported, or permission was granted to jettison fuel from an aircraft
travelling to or from Hobart TAS within a radius of 60km of Hobart
Airport.
Unfortunately due to the limited capacity of subject matter experts, it
has become apparent that the ATSB may be unable to meet the current
deadline for your request.
I would be grateful if you could please consider agreeing to an extension
of time (under section 15AA of the FOI Act) of 7 days days for the
processing of your request. If you agree to this extension the decision on
your request would then be due by 22 April 2024.
I apologise for the delay and any inconvenience this may cause you and the
ATSB will endeavour to provide you with a decision as soon as possible.
Could you please respond advising whether you agree to this extension of
time by COB Monday 15 April 2024.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact the FOI team.
Kind Regards
Sadia
FOI and Policy Officer
Legal, Governance and Strategic Policy
ATSB
12 Moore Street
Canberra City ACT 2601
E: [1][email address]
[2]www.atsb.gov.au
[3]@atsbgovau
Australia's national transport safety investigator
Dear FOI-ATSB,
Thank you, Sadia,
Yes, I agree to provide you an extension on my request until 22 April 2024.
Yours sincerely,
Cathy Minnucci
OFFICIAL
Dear Ms Minnucci
Please find attached correspondence in relation to your FOI request of 16
March 2024.
Should you have any queries regarding this matter, please contact the FOI
team.
Kind Regards
Sadia
FOI and Policy Officer
Legal, Governance and Strategic Policy
ATSB
12 Moore Street
Canberra City ACT 2601
E: [1][email address]
[2]www.atsb.gov.au
[3]@atsbgovau
Australia's national transport safety investigator
Dear FOI-ATSB,
Thank you for your reply.
Just so that I understand what has been communicated to me...your excerpt:
"Fuel dumping is not reportable to the ATSB unless there is an associated technical issue that is
reportable or there is a declaration of an emergency, and there were no such reports received
relevant to your request."
In aviation 'standard operating procedures', can fuel dumping still occur if no associated technical issue existed? ...and was NOT reported?
Yours sincerely,
Cathy Minnucci
OFFICIAL
Dear Cathy
My apologies for the delay in providing a response.
The best source of information is the Airservices Aeronautical Information
Publication (AIP) – section 10.14.4:
[1]https://www.airservicesaustralia.com/aip...
This clearly describes when fuel dumping/jettison is permitted and all the
associated considerations – environmental, etc.
If you are looking for a data set on fuel dumps, Airservices is the best
point of contact. If you are looking for further information outside of
the AIP in terms of regulatory requirements, you can contact the Civil
Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
I hope this assists you.
Kind Regards
Sadia
FOI and Policy Officer
Legal, Governance and Strategic Policy
ATSB
12 Moore Street
Canberra City ACT 2601
E: [2][email address]
[3]www.atsb.gov.au
[4]@atsbgovau
Australia's national transport safety investigator
Dear FOI-ATSB,
Thank you Sadia...
I did ask both Airservices and CASA the same question and they referred me to you at the ATSB.
Looks like it was a difficult request because they were much less helpful.
Yours sincerely,
Cathy Minnucci