Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, has hit back at claims aired on Channel 7 last Sunday that the RAAF contributed to the disappearance of a Cessna 210 over 30 years ago.
The report on Channel 7's Sunday program investigated the disappearance of Cessna 210 VH-MDX over Barrington Tops north of Sydney in 1981. The program featured aviation identity Dick Smith, who attributed part of the blame for the incident to the Cessna being unable to transit Williamtown airspace.
"It is incorrect to claim that Air Force caused VH-MDX to fly an unsuitable track," said AM Brown in a released statement. "The presence of civilian aircraft in Williamtown airspace demonstrates that civilian aircraft were permitted to transit Williamtown airspace.
"On the evening of the disappearance of VH-MDX, Williamtown Air Traffic Control immediately offered a clearance for VH-MDX at an amended altitude (of 7,000 feet or 9,000 feet) to ensure separation with a preceding civilian aircraft (at 8,000 feet) that was already inside Williamtown airspace. This was done without delay and more than 30 minutes before VH-MDX reported entering bad weather.
"The story also implied that VH-MDX was unreasonably requested to hold. Aircraft are routinely required by civilian and military Air Traffic Control to hold or adjust the aircraft’s track, altitude or speed, to ensure separation is maintained with preceding and higher priority military and civilian aircraft.
"The likelihood of holding is increased for aircraft that do not submit a flight plan because the aircraft’s data needs to be manually entered into the Air Traffic Control system.
"Attributing this tragedy to the Air Force is sensationalist and incorrect and I note that the program did not seek any comment or clarification from either Air Force or Defence in relation to this incident. It is disappointing that these unsubstantiated claims were aired on national television."
Dick Smith has responded to the RAAF statement and defends his position.
"The Air Marshal is clearly ill informed," Smith says on the Channel 7 website. "This is a damning reflection on the advice Air Marshal Brown receives. Let me quote from Air Marshal Brown’s Media Release:
"'The likelihood of holding is increased for an aircraft that do not submit a flight plan because the aircraft's data needs to be manually entered into the Air Traffic Control system.'
"By this, Air Marshal Brown clearly means that pilots should submit a flight plan if they want to fly the safer, more direct route over Williamtown so that delays are reduced and safety is improved.
"By flying over Williamtown, pilots are not forced – as was VH-MDX on that terrible night – to fly to the west of Williamtown into the mountainous area of the Barrington Tops where high winds can turn a plane upside-down.
"However, Air Marshal Brown clearly doesn’t know that military enforced regulations mean it is not possible for a civilian pilot to file such a flight plan. That is why I stated on the Channel 7 Sunday Night program: 'The restrictions are still there. You can't file a flight plan across the top of Williamtown.'"
The first part of the story entitled Mystery in the Devil's Triangle aired last Sunday night, with the second part scheduled to air this Sunday night.
AM Brown's full statement is available on the Defence website.