What happened
During operations at Bundaberg airport, an encounter occurred involving two aircraft, QOV and EHQ. While the flight crew of QOV and the AFRU were able to communicate via the CTAF, there was a lack of identifiable radio broadcasts from the pilot of EHQ during the event.
The investigation
Investigators reviewed all available recordings from air traffic control and the Bundaberg CTAF. The audit confirmed that all transmissions from the QOV crew and the AFRU were captured. However, the ATSB could not locate any recordings of broadcasts attributed to the pilot of EHQ. The investigation focused on why the reported broadcasts from EHQ were not transmitted on the CTAF and why the QOV crew was unable to hear them.
Findings
- The ATSB could not determine the specific reason for the transmission failure or the lack of audibility to the other crew.
- It is probable that the pilot of EHQ did not correctly configure and operate the helicopter’s communications system for CTAF operations while departing Bundaberg airport.
- The pilot of EHQ likely failed to detect the configuration error during the departure phase.