BOB ATKINSON, PRESENTER: Hello, my name is Bob Atkinson and I am the Commissioner for the Queensland Police Service. On Saturday the 7th of May 2005, an aircraft with 15 people on board, travelling from Bamaga crashed at Lockhart River. All 15 people were killed. One of those was Sally Urquhart, constable in the Queensland Police Service and the daughter of Shane and Elizabeth Urquhart. Sally was one of our brightest and best officers and sadly, her unlimited potential will now never be realised. This Australian Story is about her father Shane and his work to improve the safety of people travelling on regional airlines throughout Australia.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Being a musician myself, one of the ways that I thought would be a long term way of remembering Sally, was to have a piece of music composed in her honour. It’s called ‘Celebration for Sally’. The navy band in Sydney have it as part of their repertoire.
NATALIE URQUHART, SISTER: I definitely have a sense of Sally when I play that piece. Certain bits, like the bit at the start just reminds me of her being a police officer. You know, there’s the police whistle and all that, and I just straight away think of Sal in her uniform, and then the reflective part of it, you know, I can think of maybe my last moments that I spent with Sal, and that’s, they’re the hard bits to get through. Mum and dad don’t actually get the chance very much to come and watch me perform in the navy band. I think they got a huge buzz out of it. So um, I think it was probably a bit emotionally hard on mum. I think she might have had a few tears there.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: There’s just certain parts in it that really, I really love and I’ve told Natalie which parts they are. And every time they’re played I just, yeah, it’s my Sal.
(Excerpts from ABC News)
FEMALE REPORTER: Fifteen people died when a Transair Metro liner slammed into a rugged mountain in May 2005.
MALE REPORTER: Searches took until late in the afternoon to spot the wreckage. One of the passengers was Constable Sally Urquhart, a Bamaga police officer.
INVESTIGATOR: We’d like to know exactly what caused the accident.
FEMALE REPORTER 2: The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has described yesterday’s tragedy as the country’s most significant loss since the 1960s.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: This was always an accident that was going to happen, not if and when, an accident that was always going to happen.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: And it was just amazing when he started how many people, like ex-pilots or pilots, got in contact with him to say, ‘Oh yeah, I know of this that happened, and I know of that that happened’.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: That caused me no end of grief, that caused me no end of angst in that I really needed to find out what the hell was going on here.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Sally was our eldest child, first born. I’m a school principal and I was in my first one teacher school when Sally was due to be born.
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: Sal was one of those people where she was always my rock. Like I’d, as most young fella’s do, get themselves in a bit trouble and that and Sal would be the first person I rang, every time.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: She was fairly set on law, got an honours degree in law, went off and did some articles with a law firm and decided very promptly that that wasn’t what she wanted to do.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: And she called us up and said ‘I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore, I can’t do it, I hate it’. And like she topped family law in her year and all I could think of was, five years down the drain, you know.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Touch was her big thing and she was being looked at to be part of the Australian mixed open team.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: At that particular stage with her touch, she had met a couple of girls that were in the police service and Shane said to Sal, ‘Have you ever thought of joining the police service?’
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: When Sally first went to the city station, she was doing the orientation visit and I think one of the senior officers might have said something like, ‘this is Trad Thornton, keep away from Trad Thornton’ or something like that. And I think that might have been like waving a red rag to a bull.
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: They didn’t have much in common, but they just clicked. They never argued, they never worried about stuff, they just did what they had to do and to them life was beautiful.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Most of the young police officers do need to do a bit of country service, Sally promptly transferred to Cairns.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: I was inspector in Cairns. Sally was smart as a whip. She was a very down to earth, practical and keen young copper, and a very effective young copper.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Trad put his hand up and said I’d like to go to Cairns too, so he ended up in Cairns as well, and they got engaged before they went up there. So they were going to be married in September 2005.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: And he and Sal went up to the Cape stations. She was a caring, compassionate person who genuinely loved other people. And I was more than proud to call Sally my friend, more than proud to call Sally my friend, and I still am.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: One of the issues about living in isolated communities, is the fact that the major way of moving is by air transport.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: I personally am terrified of aeroplanes, have been my whole life. If the young police had to come out of the communities for court, or for courses or any other reason, then it was by aircraft
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: She often used to say to me, ‘I wish I didn’t have to fly out’ and the night before it happened, she rang here. And the last thing she said to me was, ‘The only thing mum, is I hate getting on that plane’. She said, ‘I hate it’. She said, ‘It just rattles’. And I said, ‘You’ll be right, love’. I said ‘Think of happy thoughts when you get on there’. I said, ‘Think of your wedding’. That’s the last time I spoke to her.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Trad was still on duty up in the station at that particular time and he received the phone call from Lockhart River to say, ‘Where’s the plane? It hasn’t arrived’.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: Trad rang and I heard Shane say, ‘What’s the matter mate, what’s wrong?’ And Shane just got up and sort of thumped the bed. He said, ‘No’. And then he said to me, ‘They can’t find the plane’.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: My mobile phone rang and it was a policeman. He said, ‘Have you heard about that plane?’, I said, ‘Yeah’. He said, ‘Sally was on it’. And I said, ‘How much hope is there?’ He said, ‘In reality’ and he was very strong in what he said, but it meant none. He said, ‘We haven’t found the wreck, but we’re quite sure we’re looking for a plane wreck’.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Within a couple of hours, I think it was by 9:30 that night we actually arrived in Cairns.
(Excerpt from ABC News, May 8, 2005)
RESCUE WORKER: Parts of the wreckage and some of the undergrowth was still burning with smoke when we got there yesterday afternoon.
ABC REPORTER: It’s been confirmed that there were no survivors among the 15 people aboard the plane which crashed in remote North Queensland yesterday.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Yesterday we lost our beautiful daughter Sally forever. She was 28-years-old.
ABC REPORTER 2: The flight was a regular passenger service returning to Cairns from the Cape York community of Bamaga.
ABC REPORTER 3: Crash investigators have confirmed that the plane slammed, at speed, into a steep hill and burst into flames on impact.
ABC REPORTER 4: Vital black box recorders were recovered yesterday. They were damaged from the impact and subsequent fire but it’s hoped they’ll still be able to help determine what caused the crash.
(End of Excerpt)
(Excerpt from ABC News, May 11, 2005)
ABC REPORTER 5: Cairns at St Monica cathedral overflowed with family members, friends, police officers.
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson consoled Shane Urquhart, whose daughter Sally was due to marry fellow Bamaga police officer, Trad Thornton, later this year.
(End of Excerpt)
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: It’s all a bit of a blur when we did lose Sal but hearing my parents cry themselves to sleep was the most chilling thing that I’ve ever heard.
Mum, I can understand, but hearing my father cry himself to sleep was just, yeah. Not nice at all.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: The most difficult thing however was coming back to Brisbane and waiting for the process of victim identification and it was 23 days from the accident before we were able to have a funeral for our daughter.
(Excerpt of footage from Police video, May 30, 2005, Sally Urquhart’s funeral)
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: I think there was about 3,000 police at the funeral, the horses, 20 something motorcycles, the guard of honour, all escorted Sally along Anne Street to St John’s Cathedral.
BOB ATKINSON, COMMISSIONER, QUEENSLAND POLICE: Today, Sally, we pay tribute to you. We salute you.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: Bluey O’Gorman organised it. It’s pretty hard when you’ve got to sit there and pick your daughter’s casket. You sort of feel that, well, she’s my girl, I know her best.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: It was tough, and yet it was, it was an extreme honour for me to be able to take part in making sure that Sally’s send-off was special for her.
TRAD THORNTON, FIANCÃE: Just before she was about to board the plane, I gave her a hug, I kissed her and I told her I loved her. I was also able to say goodbye. It was a token goodbye, but it was a goodbye.
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: Trad’s lost his be all and end all. They were getting married, they were tight, they were going to be together for the rest of their lives.
And seeing that man get up there and speak was absolutely mind blowing.
TRAD THORNTON, FIANCÃE: As I walked towards the police truck, I turned to see my Sally for the last time. She was waving and smiling at me and I can’t ask for a better last image of Sally.
(End of Excerpt)
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: That was a huge day, and everything was just beautifully done. How Sal would have wanted it to be.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: For quite a few months I guess we were grieving and not taking particular notice of what was going on. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was investigating this particular crash.
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: The ATSB were very good to us. They let us know what they could. I think Shane had made up his mind he was getting involved anyway, he knew there was more to it than just the crash.
(Excerpt from ABC News, December 2005)
ABC REPORTER: Seven months on an interim report’s been released with few answers about what went wrong.
AUSTRALIAN TRANSPORT SAFETY BUREAU SPOKESMAN: We have ruled out a mechanical failure of the engines.
ABC REPORTER: Now victims’ families are questioning a safety check which gave the aircraft the all-clear two months before the crash.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Was that audit carried out properly? The answer would be no, it wasn’t.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: At the particular time the company that was running the route from Cairns to Bamaga and back was a company called Aero Tropics. Aero Tropics was the name that was on the plane but they were actually responsible for the passenger lists and ticketing. The plane was actually owned and operated by a company called Lessbrook trading as Transair. Senator Jan McLucas from Cairns, she’d been doing a lot of investigating around Aero Tropics in particular and the operation up there.
(Excerpt of footage from Senate Estimates, October 2006)
KERRY O’BRIEN, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: I think Senator McLucas has got some questions that she wants to
JAN MCLUCAS, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: Yes. I want to ask some questions about CASA’s (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) oversight of Lessbrook trading as Transair Propriety Limited.
(End of Excerpt)
MARK DAVIS, FMR STAFFER TO SEN. JAN MCLUCAS: I was Senator Jan McLucas’s media adviser at the time of the accident. It very quickly became apparent that we should also be looking at the regulatory authority, CASA, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the way that it was monitoring the aviation industry in North Queensland. North Queensland has got a very, very bad aviation safety record.
(Excerpt continued)
JAN MCLUCAS, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: What I’d now like to know is what action was taken by CASA following the November 2001 audit, the August 2004 audit, the February 2005 audit and the February 2006 audit.
BRUCE BYRON, FMR CASA CEO: From my, looking at the records.
MARK DAVIS, FMR STAFFER TO SEN. JAN MCLUCAS: The information that was starting to come from us from people in the aviation industry was very disturbing.
BRUCE BYRON, FMR CASA CEO: Recorded activities, were not anywhere near the same scale.
JAN MCLUCAS, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: Mr Byron, you have said that to me. I am sorry, I need more than that.
BRUCE BYRON, FMR CASA CEO: Senator, you also asked me what we have done in relation to other audits that have been done recently.
JAN MCLUCAS, QUEENSLAND SENATOR: I want, I want the detail of what actions CASA took following each of the four audits and I think it is very reasonable thing to ask.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: I did some delving into other crashes in Australian history and found that exactly the same things had been occurring over a period of 10 years or so. There were incidents of aircraft landing on unauthorised airstrips, tyres blown on tarmacs, planes getting bogged on airstrips, hydraulic failures, landing-gear failures and questions about the validity of pilots’ endorsements. And the general commonality between all of these investigations seemed to be that CASA was involved somewhere, CASA was the oversight organisation, but these companies had deficiencies that weren’t rectified. And they continued to fly with these deficiencies. I really thought then that there would be a process that would uncover all of this and that there would be some justice, accountability throughout the system.
(Excerpt from ABC News, April 2007)
KAREN BERKMAN, ABC REPORTER: The Australian Transport Safety Bureau report paints a terrifying picture.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: It was one of the most comprehensive, detailed reports that the ATSB has ever produced.
(Excerpt continued)
KAREN BERKMAN, ABC REPORTER: In bad weather the Metro-liner came in for a complex instrument landing at Lockhart River with the pilot overloaded and an inexperienced 21-year-old co-pilot. Add to that confusing maps and a basic ground proximity warning system that would have alerted the crew too late.
BRUCE BYRON, FMR CASA CEO: I have never seen rates of descent that high, during an instrument approach, when so close to the ground.
ABC REPORTER: Transair was found to have contributed to the crash by inadequate training and supervision of pilots.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: CASA had done very, very many reports on Transair, had come up with some recommendations. Transair had not carried any of them out and were still continuing to operate with those things unattended.
(Excerpt from ABC News)
ABC REPORTER: The ATSB said the Civil Aviation Safety Authority had not properly monitored the airlines structure and operations.
(End of Excerpt)
MARK DAVIS, FMR STAFFER TO SEN. JAN MCLUCAS: And it appears that whatever actions CASA took was totally inadequate because here you suddenly have an airline with 15 people on board one of its aircrafts crashing into a mountain.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Once we’d seen the ATSB report, I guess my first thought was wow, ’cause it’s all there, and there is going to be some justice and accountability about what happened in this particular case.
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: And it wasn’t until the coroner’s inquest, that’s when it rattled me the most. Sitting there and listening to people lying through their teeth.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: It seemed to be that the CASA legal team concentrated on discrediting the ATSB and the ATSB report.
(Excerpt from ABC News)
ABC REPORTER 3: Today the Coroner released his findings into the crash.
ABC REPORTER 4: Coroner Michael Barnes blamed Captain Brett Hotchin for the crash, a pilot criticised by colleagues for his dangerous flying practices.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: We hold no grudges against the pilots whatsoever. Yes, the pilot in command certainly had a reputation of doing some things that were probably outside the scope of what he needed to do. The issue is, he was allowed to do that. He was allowed to do that through poor company policy, poor company management and a lack of oversight by CASA.
(Excerpt from ABC News)
ABC REPORTER 4: The coroner was critical of Transair’s safety management systems and pilot training practices, and while he criticised monitoring by CASA, he found the authority couldn’t have prevented the accident.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: We’re not looking for blame. We’re looking for someone to stand up and take responsibility.
TRAD THORNTON, FIANCÃE: We’re looking for answers and we were hoping that Mr Barnes would have made the numerous recommendations to stop something like this from happening again.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: And the people of Australia especially if you’re on rural airlines, if CASA’s oversighting it, don’t fly. Today’s outcome, what a whole waste of time for all of us and we’re just back to square one as far as I’m concerned.
(End of Excerpt)
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: That’s when I was really worried about dad, I just thought that would be such a big blow to someone like dad that’s put so much effort into it and pretty much just to get dirt thrown in his face.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: I think the darkest times are when you are alone and the memories come flooding back. You hear some music or you see something or even smell something that reminds you of the past. And we realise just what we’ve lost.
MARK DAVIS, FMR STAFFER TO SEN. JAN MCLUCAS: I think a lot of people underestimated Shane’s determination. It must have been very painful for him. We could see the pain, that’s for sure. But he never let go. Not once. Shane was looking to take it a step further and he encouraged I think, Senator McLucas and Senator Kerry O’Brien to have a look at the possibilities of a Senate inquiry into Lockhart River and into CASA.
NATALIE URQUHART, SISTER: If dad’s really passionate about something, then he will push it to the end and, definitely getting up people’s goat, getting in their faces, he’s definitely, doesn’t surprise me with dad actually at all. So he’s not going to, wasn’t going to let this one just slip away.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: I just kept making a nuisance of myself, kept knocking on doors, meeting with people, meeting with the minister, writing emails, writing faxes, asking questions. Finally, the Senate committee decided that it would instigate an inquiry into CASA and other matters. There was 63 submissions from interested people around Australia about CASA.
(Excerpt of footage from Senate Inquiry, July last year)
CHAIR: Welcome Mr Urquhart.
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: I was one of those people. I’m not a pilot, I’m not a lawyer. But in the past three years I certainly have built up my knowledge about a whole range of issues surrounding, the actions of the aviation industry and in particular that of the regulator.
(End of Excerpt)
ELIZABETH URQUHART, MOTHER: ‘Cause I think what got CASA with just this person who’s just a school teacher, he won’t know much. And I think they were surprised with what Shane knew.
NATALIE URQUHART, SISTER: Sometimes I get a little bit worried that perhaps he might be bringing things up that mum or we don’t necessarily want to get brought up again. Sometimes I think it’s a little bit of an obsession, that he may need to back off. But this is what dad needs to do, this is what dad wants to do, and it’s a good thing.
(Excerpt continued)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: I’d like to make clear too that nothing is going to bring back any of the people who were lost at Lockhart River. However, to uncover the years of gross mismanagement, incompetence, self-indulgence and totally inconsistent application of safety regulations is just appalling. These endemic problems go right back to 1998 where reform was promised and reform has not happened. I could use the term corruption, but endemic problem within the organisation.
(End of Excerpt)
BRENDAN URQUHART, BROTHER: Once he gets to a certain point and I think that point has nearly been passed, with pursuing it, that he really needs to step back a bit. Mainly for mum and himself. I think he’s pushed himself that little bit too far at the moment emotionally and I think he really needs to just stand back and actually grieve.
(Excerpt continued)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: Someone also said ‘people like myself shouldn’t be complaining’, what do we need to do? Wait for another accident before CASA needs to act?
Well CASA hasn’t acted before accidents before. They wait until there’s an accident or incident then they act.
(End of Excerpt)
SHANE URQUHART, FATHER: We were very happy with the outcome of that inquiry. It’s the first time in three years that someone’s paid attention and listened. I’m particularly interested in the last recommendation about the Australian Audit Bureau having a good hard look at CASA’s operations and how they do business and hopefully they’ll be fixed. I feel we’ve had great success since the Senate Inquiry of last year. Especially since the release of the green paper recommendations by Minister Albanese. I’m particularly interested in the fact that the ATSB is now going to be a much more independent organisation. This simply means that CASA now can be investigated by the ATSB.
MARK DAVIS, FMR STAFFER TO SEN. JAN MCLUCAS: I think that Shane’s efforts have led to a safer environment, a safer flying environment in Far North Queensland.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: And I know that Shane and Liz aren’t just doing it for Sal, their efforts are also on behalf the other 15 people who died. It’s not just for Sally.
NATALIE URQUHART, SISTER: You know, the best outcome would be for this to never happen again. You know, to prevent it from happening to some other families. The outcome that dad has got, I think will definitely help in looking to the future and moving on. And not dwelling on, you know, how Sal died, but how she lived.
JOHN ‘BLUEY’ O’GORMAN, FMR QLD POLICE INSPECTOR: Someone as great as Sally doesn’t come about by accident, it comes about because she had great parents. I suppose that’s probably, in my own funny way, that’s probably the best compliment that I could pay to them, that they were the people who gave the world such a wonderful person as Sally.
END CAPTIONS: The Federal Government expects two new aviation bills to become law by July.
One will create a small expert board ‘to provide high level direction to CASA’s regulatory and safety oversight role’.
The second will ‘reinforce the independence of the ATSB’ by establishing it as a separate statutory agency.
