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AvSafety seminars for pilots and engineers May 2019 Enhancing pilot skills in a dynamic environment In 2019, CASA’s Aviation Safety Advisors (ASAs) will run a series of AvSafety seminars—Enhancing pilot skills in a Dynamic Environment. This seminar will discuss how knowledge of human factors in three essential pilot skills will enhance aviation safety. communication situational awareness threat and error management Using practical examples, the seminar will look at enhancing the skills involved with radio communications around aerodromes and maintaining situational awareness in a dynamic and changing environment. The seminar will also introduce the role of threat and error management and discuss techniques to complement the technical aspects of flying an aircraft. The seminars are an ideal opportunity for you to interact with your ASA, discuss local issues and ask questions of the regulator. Register now via Eventbrite. Attendance is free. Locations and dates are as follows: Inverell Tuesday 7 May Register Now Armidale Wednesday 8 May Register Now Townsville Thursday 9 May Register Now Geraldton Sunday 12 May Register Now Burnie Tuesday 14 May Register Now Alice Springs Wednesday 15 May Register Now Yulara Thursday 16 May Register Now Launceston Thursday 16 May Register Now Jandakot Thursday 16 May Register Now Kyneton Monday 20 May Register Now Scone Tuesday 21 May Register Now Cessnock Wednesday 22 May Register Now Chinchilla Tuesday 28 May Register Now Bunbury Wednesday 29 May Register Now Port Pirie Thursday 30 May Register Now The presentation includes references to the CASA website. Please feel free to bring your tablet or smartphone to follow the information live. New Engineering knowledge development—awareness through education If you work in airworthiness and aircraft engineering, we want to keep you up to date with changes, advances and the high level of safety knowledge you require. This is a complex discipline, so if you’re an engineer, operator, trainer, HAAMC or CAMO, we want to help you have access to the latest best practice, information and resources. You’ll also have the opportunity to interact with CASA and ask us questions. Some of the topics that this series of seminars will focus on are: leadership and Mentoring for AMEs specialist maintenance certification flight Safety Australia maintenance articles regulation review update. Your Aviation Safety Advisor will be available to discuss Part 66 license questions and issues both during and after the presentation if required. Register now via Eventbrite. Locations and dates are as follows: Toowoomba Wednesday 1 May Register Now Gove Wednesday 1 May Register Now Alice Springs Tuesday 14 May Register Now Southport Wednesday 15 May Register Now Gold Coast Thursday 16 May Register Now A list of all seminars and more information is available on the CASA website. Help make the skies safe for all, attend a CASA AvSafety seminar in 2019.

From CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody I am sure everyone is aware of the issues relating to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft following the two fatal accidents in the last six months. In the aftermath of the most recent accident in Ethiopia regulators around the globe were faced with serious questions to consider. At the heart of the questions was a simple proposition: in the absence of data confirming the cause of the Ethiopian accident was it safe to allow the 737 MAX to continue to operate? After consideration of the available information and consultation with colleagues at other regulatory authorities, I made the decision to temporarily suspend 737 MAX operations to or from Australia. Subsequent actions by other countries and authorities including the United Kingdom, European Aviation Safety Agency, Canada, the Federal Aviation Administration and New Zealand confirms to me the right decision was made at the right time to ensure the safety of the travelling public. This event highlights the fact that regulators such as CASA are faced with challenging decisions to make on safety issues right across the spectrum of aviation operations – from sport and general aviation right up to large air transport. In Australia the approach we take to these challenges is to gather as much relevant data as possible and then make an informed risk assessment in accordance with CASA’s risk assessment processes that guide our activities and decision making. When we make decisions it is likely not everyone will always agree with them, but I hope there is a realisation that when we act it is done for sound and well considered reasons, without fear or favour. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news North Australian helicopter engine initiative Engine data monitoring systems are the latest initiative in the effort to find solutions to the valve and cylinder problems affecting a number of northern Australian R22 and R44 helicopters. CASA and engine manufacturer Lycoming are working with four north Australian helicopter operators who volunteered to fit the engine monitoring systems. The data collected by the devices will provide detailed information on engine performance to allow a more comprehensive analysis of the issues. There are two distinct but interrelated failure modes affecting engine reliability: intake valve and valve seat wear due to oil coking, and exhaust valve and valve guide wear due to valve guide bell-mouthing. Investigations to date have indicated both issues may be impacted by hot climate engine shutdown/cool down procedures. An updated airworthiness bulletin has been issued on the intake valve issue, which includes advice from Robinson on a hot climate cool down procedure. Lycoming says the intake valve issues are aggravated by ‘hot loading’ and inadequate engine cool down prior to shutdown in ambient temperatures above 38°C. Read the updated Robinson R22/R44 engine intake valve and valve seat distress airworthiness bulletin. Pilot resources for radio use A suite of resources for pilots on correct radio procedures in non-controlled airspace is now available. There are two relevant civil aviation advisory publications, new procedures in the Aeronautical Information Package, a resource booklet and the rules themselves in Civil Aviation Regulation 166. In addition, a CASA video on radio calls in and around non-controlled aerodromes has a wealth of practical information. It is important to be clear on the right radio calls to make in non-controlled airspace following the clarification of the appropriate VHF frequencies to use in the vicinity of aerodromes in class G airspace. In many situations in non-controlled airspace, CASA recommends using the area frequency. However, in the vicinity of uncharted aerodromes, pilots have discretion to use the most appropriate frequency that ensures safe operation. This can be MULTICOM 126.7MHz. The civil aviation advisory publication on operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes covers hazards, standard traffic circuit procedures and radio broadcasts. Watch the radio calls video. Get these resources: Civil Aviation Advisory Publication on operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes Civil Aviation Advisory Publication on collision avoidance in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes Civil Aviation Regulation 166 The latest Aeronautical Information Package The updated radio procedures booklet Air traffic control radio call change Pilots will soon hear a difference in air traffic control radio transmissions. From 23 May 2019, a small change to the way numbers are announced by air traffic control will take effect in Australian airspace. This is in line with International Civil Aviation Organization recommendations. The change will see transmissions of flight levels that include whole hundred numbers made with the word “hundred”, rather than “zero zero”. For example, an instruction to “climb to flight level two zero zero” will become “climb to flight level two hundred”. Pilots should read this back as “flight level two hundred”. Other flight level assignments, headings, wind direction and speed, and runway identifiers will continue to be transmitted by pronouncing each digit separately. Transmissions relating to altitude, cloud height, visibility and runway visual range also remain unchanged. Full details will be published in the May 2019 amendment of the Aeronautical Information Package. Advice on cabin safety investigations A wealth of guidance material to support cabin safety investigations is now available. CASA has published two cabin safety bulletins on the important topic. The goal of a cabin safety investigation is to analyse all aspects of an incident, looking at the actions of cabin crew members and passengers, as well as the cabin environment, relevant systems and equipment. The investigation should identify safety deficiencies and lessons learned from the event. Cabin safety investigations may result in the development of recommendations related to operator procedures, fatigue, training, safety and emergency equipment and aircraft systems. As part of a safety management system air operators should have documented policies, procedures and guidelines for conducting accident and incident investigations. One cabin safety bulletin looks at the role of cabin safety investigators, the types of events that should be investigated, crew member interviews, questioning of passengers and fire, smoke or fume events. The second bulletin provides information to assist investigators with information analysis when building a report following a fire, smoke or fumes occurrence. Go to the cabin safety investigation bulletin and the cabin safety incident analysis bulletin. Drone milestones highlighted The remotely piloted aircraft sector is reaching significant milestones. There have now been more than 11,000 remote pilot licences issued by CASA and more than 1500 remotely piloted aircraft operator certificates. This year the number of remotely piloted aircraft operator certificates is likely to double the number of current air operator certificates. These milestones were highlighted in a speech by CASA’s Luke Gumley, the branch manager Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. Luke told the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems conference in Melbourne the concrete steps CASA is taking to manage and promote the safety of unmanned aviation in Australia. “Integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems into the system of aviation safety, particularly into Australia's airspace, should provide sufficient flexibility for innovation in the remotely piloted aircraft systems industry, without adversely affecting other airspace users, the travelling public, or posing unacceptable risks to people or property on the ground,” Luke said. “The pace of technological change in the remotely piloted aircraft systems sector means CASA must continue to adapt its more traditional approach to aviation safety. Our clients are not only the professionals, but all remotely piloted aircraft systems operators, including recreational flyers and hobbyists. CASA must use a combination of safety information, persuasion, technology and regulation to appropriately manage safety. We balance the need to develop policies and regulations responsively, with appropriate research and consultation. The speed of change and the growing remotely piloted aircraft systems user base necessitates a different way of thinking for a regulator.” The speech highlighted the work CASA is doing on remotely piloted aircraft registration and accreditation, remotely piloted aircraft surveillance and digital transactions. Read the remotely piloted aircraft speech. In brief Chief pilots of remotely piloted aircraft training organisations will soon be able to lodge remote pilot licence applications online. This means remotely piloted aircraft training organisations won’t need to scan paper forms and send them to CASA. The remote aircraft licensing process will be managed through CASA’s online portal, with exceptions for students who are also applying for an Aeronautical Radio Operator Certificate or who need to undertake English language proficiency assessments. Remotely piloted aircraft operator certificate renewals that don’t require any variations will also move online in the near future. Have your say on proposed changes to the Part 60 Manual of Standards. Part 60 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations covers flight simulators and synthetic trainers. Proposed changes to the manual of standards relate to the qualification standards and specifications for synthetic training devices. They will replace unique Australian standards with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the United States Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Consultation closes on 10 April 2019. CASA has published a proposed airworthiness directive for Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation S-76 series helicopters. The proposed directive relates to the main landing gear positioning rod assembly and expands the applicability of a current directive. The issue is potential landing gear collapse caused by corrosion due to dissimilar metals in the landing gear rod end. Comment by 10 April 2019. The updated and improved safety behaviours kit for pilots is now available. The kit has booklets, videos and worksheets. Order your safety behaviours kit from the online store. An alert has been issued on critical freewheel unit lubrication issues in Bell 206 Jet Ranger and Long Ranger series helicopters. Action should be considered to reduce the possibility of torsional main rotor mast yielding and in-flight separation of the main rotor head from the mast. In an airworthiness bulletin CASA recommends clutch oil filter inspections. Applications for CASA sponsorships opened on Monday 25 March 2019 and will close on Friday 19 April. Organisations applying for sponsorship are required to complete a safety promotion sponsorship application form. The sponsorship program is open to community and not-for-profit organisations that promote and raise awareness of aviation safety. Seventeen pilot safety seminars Pilots in 17 regional locations around Australia have the chance to attend an AvSafety seminar in April 2019. The seminars will help pilots develop skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario will be used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots will work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. Pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. Extracts from the new plain English guide to the Part 91 operating and flight rules will be available for review and comment. In April 2019 seminars are being held at: Port Hedland* Ballina Lismore Grafton Karratha* Mudgee Hamilton Island Dubbo Kununurra Airlie Beach Broome Mackay Jabiru Maitland Clifton Warracknabeal Gove Book a place at a pilot safety seminar. *Subject to cyclone recovery.

No as that was a function that was developed in Xenforo. I may include it in the IPS software at sometime in the future but at the moment i am finding that I have very limited time which is frustrating me in being able to give you all a lot more with the site

Have you missed the following updates published on our website last month? Announcements Community service flights New requirements for pilots flying Community Service Flights will come into effect on 19 March 2019. The requirements establish a new minimum standard to ensure that the people that use these flights are afforded an appropriate level of safety. Visit the CASA website for more information. Aerodrome regulation made into law A comprehensive revision to CASR Part 139 was made on 21 February 2019, with the accompanying Manual of Standards due to be made shortly. The regulation does not commence until August 2020, allowing for CASA to provide support to the aviation community to fully transition by August 2022. New booklet explains recommended radio procedures We’ve published a new booklet called Be heard, be seen, be safe, to ensure all pilots and flight instructors understand the correct radio procedures to use in Class G airspace, including non-controlled aerodromes. It is available on the Online CASA Store. New edition of Human factors for pilots kit now available The 2nd edition of safety behaviors: Human factors for pilots updates both the content and format of the first edition, with 10 booklets, a workbook and videos. The kit, launched at Avalon, is available for ordering through our Online Store, or you can download a copy and watch the videos on the CASA website. Consultations Proposed amendments to CAOs 40.7 and 82.7 We are seeking feedback on proposed amendments to CAOs 40.7 and 82.7. The amendments propose new commercial pilot experience and training requirements for the balloon size classes, and the experience requirements for a chief pilot of an AOC holder. Don’t miss the opportunity to make your comments count, provide your feedback via our Consultation Hub by the 13 March 2019 deadline. Modernising the fatigue rules Consultation on the proposed CAO 48.1 Instrument 2019 has closed. The summary of consultation – summarising the feedback received – will be published next month. However, you can read the responses to our consultation where permission has been granted to publish. Exemptions Changes to use of pre-hiring drug and alcohol tests An exemption (CASA EX 42/16) that allows the use of pre-hiring drug and alcohol tests has expired and been replaced with a new exemption – CASA EX29/19. To find out more, visit the CASA website. Guidance material CAAP 166-01v4.2 – Operations in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes The policy in relation to the appropriate frequency to use in the vicinity of non-controlled aerodromes has been finalised and is now reflected in CAAP 166-01 v4.2. View the CAAP on the CASA website.

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There seems to be only 2 things I can do make the site perform faster and one of them was to bring it back to an Australian server which was done last night...it is now hosted on a dedicated server here in Sydney. Also compared to the old Australian server I have gone from a E3-1270 v2 processor to an E3-1240 v6 one plus the ram has been increased from 8gb to 32gb. The 2nd thing I can do will take a lot of work over the next month so I will let you know when that is done as it will be a major impact on the site but will make the site extremely fast even for those in the country and outback

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From CEO and Director of Aviation Safety, Shane Carmody Improved standards for community service flights are being introduced to enhance public confidence in the safety of these important services. We have now set new minimum standards for pilots operating community service flights, identified the kinds of aircraft that can be used and set out appropriate maintenance and operating requirements. The new standards were put in place following consultation with community service flight organisations, pilots, the broader aviation community and the general public. The centrepiece of the new safety standards is a requirement for pilots to have appropriate flying experience before they undertake community service flights. These new safety standards take into account the special nature of community service flights, which can be very different to private flights. These flights can put a lot of responsibility and sometimes considerable pressure on pilots. It is only fair to the pilots, patients and carers to ensure there are appropriate safety standards that go beyond those required for everyday private flying. CASA does not believe these standards will have an adverse impact on the majority of community service flights, as most pilots already tend to be more experienced. Noting the occurrences, accidents and fatal accidents in community service flight operations, we believe it is appropriate for these steps to be taken. There were more than 200 responses to our consultation on the issue and we carefully assessed all the feedback before making significant amendments to the original proposals. One of the major changes was to remove proposed engine maintenance requirements, which we concluded would have been too onerous. It is important to understand these conditions only apply to pilots conducting community service flights. To be considered a community service flight, the flight must be brokered by an entity for a charitable or community service purpose. Find out more about community service flight conditions. Best wishes Shane Carmody Latest news Plain English guide to new regs coming A key step has been taken in the development of a plain English guide to the new Part 91 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. Extracts from the guide to the new general operating and flight rules have been released for comment. The extracts show how the guide will provide information on complying with the regulations in simple and concise language, using effective graphics to explain requirements. CASA is asking pilots to assess if the extracts are easy-to-read and understand, retain the true meaning of the regulations and strike the right balance between technical accuracy and simple writing. Copies of a brochure containing the Part 91 plain English guide extracts will be released at the Avalon Air Show and are being distributed at CASA’s AvSafety seminars for pilots during March and April 2019. A version of brochure is also available on CASA’s web site, where feedback can be lodged. Once the guide is completed it will mean pilots will not need to refer directly to the regulations to understand and comply with the general operating and flight rules, although the regulations themselves will remain the legal reference for compliance. The guide is primarily intended for general aviation pilots and flying schools. Go to the Part 91 extracts and provide feedback. New safety tool for pilots An expansive, updated and improved resource kit for all pilots on safety behaviours has been produced by CASA. The revised safety behaviours kit will become a must have tool for pilots at all levels of flying. The kit includes ten booklets covering a range of topics relevant to individual pilots and small air operators, a workbook with practical exercises, discussion areas and reference material and a suite of videos containing interviews with aviation experts and practitioners. Topics covered include safety culture, human performance, communication, teamwork, situational awareness, decision making, threat and error management, human information processing and design and automation. A central theme of the kit is that while it is impossible to eliminate all errors, consequences can be successfully mitigated by understanding human factors principles. The kit can be obtained through CASA’s online store, with the videos available both online and on USB. Order your safety behaviours kit from the online store. Right radio use in non-controlled airspace There’s plenty of information available for pilots on radio procedures in non-controlled airspace. This is important following CASA’s clarification of the appropriate VHF frequencies to use in the vicinity of aerodromes in class G airspace. In many situations in non-controlled airspace CASA recommends using the area frequency. However, in the vicinity of uncharted aerodromes, pilots have discretion to use the most appropriate frequency that ensures safe operation. This can be MULTICOM 126.7MHz. The latest procedures are set out in a revised radio procedures booklet, available from the CASA online store. They will also be contained in the Aeronautical Information Publication to be released in late February 2019 and a new Civil Aviation Advisory Publication. All pilots operating in non-controlled airspace should refer to these resources to ensure they operate safely. In the booklet ‘Be heard, be seen, be safe’ there is information on radio carriage, frequencies, when broadcasts must and should be made and how to make effective broadcasts. Order a copy of the radio procedures booklet. Fatigue management progress There was a strong response to the latest consultation on proposed new fatigue management rules, with 331 people and organisations lodging feedback. CASA is now analysing the feedback, along with input from a fatigue technical working group. The issue will be considered by the Aviation Safety Advisory Group in March 2018 before CASA reaches a final position. CASA is aiming to make the Civil Aviation Order 48.1 instrument on fatigue as quickly as possible, with transition to the new requirements scheduled to be completed by March 2020. Many high capacity air operators are in the process of developing fatigue risk management systems and Qantas has begun a 12-month trial. The latest consultation on new fatigue rules followed an independent review of fatigue requirements, which made 24 recommendations. The proposed flight duty period limits incorporate key scientific principles. These include protecting sleep opportunity prior to duty, prescribing maximum flight duty periods to limit time awake, reducing flight duty periods for start times that impact pilot ability to sleep or require duty during the window of circadian low and permitting extended flight duty periods with crew augmentation and appropriate rest facilities. Find out more about fatigue management. Revised aerodrome rules are here Revised regulations covering the operations of aerodromes have been formally made. The revised Part 139 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations includes a range of changes to the rules covering aerodromes to reduce complexity and costs and improve operational flexibility. The revised regulations and associated manual of standards will not take effect until mid-2020 and there will be transition arrangements. One of the key changes is the move from existing aerodrome certificates to a ‘scalable certificate’. The premise of scalability is that busier airports with more aircraft and passenger movements will face higher regulatory requirements. There are technical changes in the manual of standards to more closely align Australia with International Civil Aviation Organization standards and recommended practices. The new regulations are more outcome-based, so aerodromes can be responsible for how best to achieve safety requirements based on their own individual circumstances. To help airports manage the changes, and in acknowledgment that some older aerodromes were built as far back as World War II and beyond, CASA is updating grandfathering provisions for some existing aerodrome facilities. These aerodromes can still operate to existing standards until they make the decision to upgrade or replace a facility. An important change for many airports under the new rules is the requirement for registered aerodromes to produce an aerodrome manual. CASA is redeveloping the aerodrome manual template and will have an online manual building tool to provide step-by-step guidance. Registered aerodromes without a current manual can build one quickly using the online tool, which will have pre-loaded text and guidance material. Find out more about the revised aerodrome regulations. In Brief The 2018 edition of the aircraft maintenance engineer careers guide has been released. It provides helpful tips on how to become an aircraft engineer; how to get a licence and where to go for the appropriate training. The guide will help people becoming engineers to maintain high standards of aviation safety. Get the guide now. Air operators and Part 141 certificate holders were given more time to comply with the new fuel rules. However, from 28 February 2019 they must comply with the requirements of the new regulation and the fuel instrument. Find out more. The summary of feedback on the proposed new rules for rotorcraft air transport operations in Parts 119 and 133 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations has been published. The feedback indicated broad aviation community support for the proposed changes. The proposed rules introduce safety enhancements such as an adaptable rotorcraft code of performance, flight and other crew member training and checking requirements and scalable safety management systems. Read the feedback. Guidance material on the design, development and delivery of passenger safety information has been updated. There’s new information on safety briefings for passengers on helicopter and balloon flights and guidance material concerning cabin baggage and portable electronic devices. Read the Civil Aviation Advisory Publication. The Bureau of Meteorology is moving its aviation meteorologists into two new aviation forecasting centres in Brisbane and Melbourne. These centres will deliver most aviation services across Australia by mid-2020, using the very latest advances in observational and modelling capabilities. There will be no change to the number of meteorologists employed and aviation operators across Australia will receive a greater level of service irrespective of where they are based. Find out more about the Bureau changes. Fourteen pilot safety seminars CASA’s popular AvSafety seminars for pilots will continue during March 2019. The seminars focus on developing pilot skills in three key areas – communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. A practical scenario is used to explain the concepts of threat and error management. Pilots work through relevant defensive flying behaviours aimed at addressing human factors challenges encountered in single pilot operations. At each seminar pilots will be given special cards with key information on communication, situational awareness and threat and error management. The cards can be kept in a new AvSafety resource folder to build a library of critical safety information. Cards and folders are only available to people who attend AvSafety seminars. Extracts from the new plain English guide to the Part 91 operating and flight rules will be available at seminars during March and April 2019 for review and comment. In March 2019 seminars are being held at: Cooma Point Cook Broken Hill Deniliquin Swan Hill Kalgoorlie Bundaberg Maryborough Mildura Innisfail Latrobe Valley Mareeba Bairnsdale Albany. Book a place at a pilot safety seminar. Engineering seminar CASA is holding an engineering safety seminar in March 2019 at Maryborough. The seminar will cover a range of topics including leadership and mentoring for aviation maintenance engineers, specialist maintenance certification, Flight Safety Australia maintenance articles and a regulation review update. Engineers, heads of airworthiness and maintenance, other people from airworthiness organisations and maintenance training personnel will all benefit from attending the seminar. This is a great professional development opportunity, allowing people to talk with CASA maintenance experts and ask questions. The Maryborough engineering seminar is being held on Wednesday 20 March 2019 at the Maryborough Aero Club. Find out more and book a place at the Maryborough engineering seminar.

Thanks guys for the comments, to take the stick when flying with someone else would have to be with an instructor due to needing a biannual now which given my eye sight I would struggle getting and nor would it be the right thing to do...legally and morally. I should get my new glasses at the end of next week which will help with the actual magnification and talking to my eye specialist the other day he says that in a couple of years he will be forced to do something to correct my so called good eye...cataracts and a plastic lens. He is extremely reluctant to touch though as if anything went wrong I would be blind, full stop. I have been trying to get him to try and fix the detached retina but he says due to the type and severity of the detachment it is extremely risky so he won't. I told him to pull the darn thing out then as it is causing too many issues with my sight but he said that if anything happened to my other eye he would be forced to try and fix the detachment as I would be blind anyway so best to leave it in. Probably like many others, I could get by without hearing, speech or smell but sight...that is the worst I reckon

"Call me Mr Brown," the man said, as though he was in a conference call, not making a bomb threat. Qantas flight 755 from Sydney to Hong Kong was carrying a explosive, he warned. And it was set to detonate as the plane came in to land. If that sounds like a plot ripped straight from a kitschy Hollywood movie, that's probably because it is. It's the larger-than-life tale of Australia's great plane robbery — one of the nation's most brazen aviation heists, born out of greed and undone by sheer stupidity. What started with a chance rerun of the film Doomsday Flight inside a kitted-out van in Townsville some 48 years ago would inexorably set in motion a chain of events that ended in the extortion of half a million dollars — and stopped the nation in its tracks. Video: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-23/10813038 The bomb and the locker It was May 26, 1971 — still some six months before the notorious criminal known as DB Cooper would enter the public consciousness after hijacking a Boeing 727 and parachuting to an uncertain fate — and an otherwise ordinary day in Sydney. That is, until the phone rang. Photo: The bomb was set to detonate if the plane dropped below a certain altitude. (ABC News) Mr Brown would tell staff at Qantas House he had hidden a bomb onboard an international flight to Hong Kong. For a mere $500,000, he would lead authorities to its exact location, sparing the lives of all those on the flight. But if you don't believe me, he taunted, why not inspect Locker 84 at Sydney's Kingsford-Smith International Airport where I've placed a replica device? Mr Brown was not bluffing — or at least, that's what authorities were led to believe. Inside the unassuming metal locker, police uncovered the unthinkable: a bomb constructed of gelignite with an altimeter-triggered detonator. Photo: Captain William Selwyn said he did not know what altitude the bomb was set to go off at. (ABC News) With it was a note: should the plane descend below 20,000 feet (6,000 metres), the bomb will explode. Think the film Speed — but in the air. "We were told to maintain our altitude at 35,000 feet," Captain William Selwyn would later say. "[Because] we did not know what altitude it was set to go off at." Authorities sprang into action. The replica bomb was defused, and the explosives were replaced with a light bulb. There was only one way to test the veracity of Mr Brown's claims — and that was to take the duplicate to the skies. The bomb was loaded onboard a second Boeing 707, and the plane climbed to 8,500 feet before beginning its precarious descent. Photo: The replica bomb was placed in locker 84 at Sydney's international airport. (ABC News) When it dropped to 5,000 feet, the light bulb on the altitude activator came on — had the explosives remained inside, the aircraft would have been blown to smithereens. This was not a game. Authorities had to act. The Kombi and the pay-off The 116 passengers on flight 755 to Hong Kong, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in, were told they were returning to Sydney because of a "technical fault". In reality though all bets were off. Flight 755 was living on borrowed time. Photo: Mr Brown demanded two suitcases full of cash, as demonstrated in this reconstruction outside Qantas House. (News Ltd/Newspix) The aircraft could never actually land lest Mr Brown's threats came to fruition, but it was slowly running out of fuel. After hours of the plane circling the city, Qantas ceded. Mr Brown, not one to be tested, would receive his ransom after all. Photo: The money exchange was organised to take place outside Qantas House in Chifley Square, Sydney. (National Library of Australia: Wolfgang Sievers) At about 5:30pm, Qantas deputy general manager Phillip Howson took the call. It took less than 10 minutes for Mr Brown to detail the terms and conditions of the drop. A yellow van would pull up outside Qantas House in Chifley Square in the city at 5:45pm. The driver would identify himself by shaking his keys out the window. The getaway vehicle was not to be followed. Any deviation from the plan would end in irreversible catastrophe, he warned. Captain RJ Ritchie, a Qantas general manager, made the rendezvous to deliver the ransom as Mr Brown had instructed, and began pushing suitcases full of cash into a Volkswagen Kombi. But there was a hitch in the operation. Four police vehicles parked in Chifley Square were never given the signal the drop was taking place — or so the rumour goes. "Unfortunately, the plan didn't go the way in which it was designed," then-police commissioner Norman Allen would concede in the Sydney Morning Herald the following month. At 6:20pm, authorities received one final call. "You can relax," Mr Brown said. Infographic: A newspaper clipping from 1971 describes the hoax and pay-off. (Supplied: News Obscure) "There is no bomb aboard the plane. You can land her safely." And so, under the cover of nightfall, an incognito Mr Brown had fled with his earnings — leaving police none the wiser about the real identity of the criminal mastermind. Who was Mr Brown? Peter Macari was no stranger to the wrong side of the law, but no-one could have predicted the otherwise unremarkable man would assume the moniker that would spark a cross-continental investigation. An English migrant, he had arrived in Australia some two years earlier on a false passport after skipping bail in Britain on an indecent assault charge. Photo: Peter Macari was no stranger to the wrong side of the law. (ABC News archives) Macari's transition into Australian life, however, was far from smooth sailing. After opening a small factory at Brookvale in Sydney which produced fibre-glass boats, he was reported to have lost half his life savings and began to travel. It was on this jaunt across the country that his grand scheme was inexorably set into motion. Inside what witnesses described as a "fitted-up van" where Macari had been residing in Townsville, the 1966 television-thriller film Doomsday Flight played on a small television set. Set in the United States, the film sees a bomb threat made against a Douglas DC-8 airliner. A bomb equipped with an altitude-sensitive switch is on board, police are told, and it will detonate if the plane tries to land. Director Rod Serling would later lament having made the film — which authorities believe inspired three separate airline extortion plots — saying he had done a "vast disservice to airlines". "I didn't realise there were that many kooks in the woodwork," he told the Nashua Telegraph newspaper some four days after the Qantas hoax. Regardless, Macari's plan had been set in motion. "That would be a good way to make money," witnesses would recall him saying upon watching the film. A budding friendship with Francis Sorohan — who would later be charged and acquitted as a minor accomplice — sealed the deal. YouTube: The movie Doomsday Flight was credited as inspiring Peter Macari Sorohan sold Macari gelignite and detonators for a mere $100 during a trip out west, having stolen them from his employer, the Mount Isa Mines. And so, all that was left to do was to make the call. The manhunt and capture of Peter Macari Catching the elusive Mr Brown was big business, and authorities vowed to leave no stone unturned. Infographic: Fifty thousand dollars was offered for any information leading to Mr Brown's capture. (National Library of Australia: The Canberra Times) Fifty thousand dollars was offered for any information leading to his capture, and detectives worked alongside Scotland Yard, Interpol and the FBI in a bid to narrow down the list of suspects. Phonetic experts were brought in to listen to recordings of Mr Brown's voice, while sketches and flyers were released to the public — all, it would seem, to no avail. Photo: Raymond Poynting's spending led to his capture. (ABC News archives) Ultimately, it was a tip-off from a service-station attendant about a "free spending" man — now known as Mr Brown's accomplice, Raymond James Poynting — that would undo the entire operation. Though most would have the sense to lay low after pulling off one of Australia's most brazen heists, 28-year-old Poynting was not most men. So when the former engineer-turned-barman — a regular customer — pulled in for petrol in a new E-Type Jaguar, it would come as no surprise that he turned heads. When he returned some weeks later in yet another luxury car, those around him grew suspicious of his stories of good fortune. Detectives of the Consorting Squad placed him under surveillance. Poynting, proving there is no honour among thieves, confessed to his role in the robbery. Photo: Police created replicas of the suspect, Peter Macari, in a bid to track him down. (ABC News) On August 4, 1971, Mr Brown and his co-accused were arrested. Now all that remained to run its course was the epilogue. The missing money — and comeuppance Macari and Poynting were indicted in the Central Court of Petty Sessions in Sydney for their role in the hoax. Prosecutors would allege Macari, or Mr Brown, was the mastermind behind the operation, while Poynting was charged as a co-conspirator, accused of aiding the operation. Photo: Some of the ransom money was stashed inside a fireplace in Annandale. (ABC News) Both men would ultimately plead guilty, and the saga that had once gripped the nation drew to a close — or so it would seem. Despite cracking the case, one question remained: where was the missing money? A little over half of the ransom, some $261,387, had been recovered by detectives — hidden under floorboards in Balmain, a fireplace in Annandale and through the sale of a series of lavish cars — but the remainder had disappeared without so much as a trace. Macari, true to form, spun authorities a tale of a wider criminal network that he had unwittingly been roped into. A third man — the real mastermind, Macari claimed — had taken the lion's share of the ransom for himself. It's a theory police too have unequivocally dismissed, although some still believe the missing money may be underwater off Bondi Beach, languishing in two safes. Photo: Detectives count money recovered from properties across Sydney. (ABC News) Though the whereabouts of the ransom may remain a mystery, the fate of the men involved was sealed. Poynting was sentenced to seven years in prison for his part in the hoax, while Macari was handed the maximum 15-year sentence. The saga was finally brought to an ironic end on November 12, 1980. After serving nine years of his prison term, Mr Brown was deported back to Britain — on a Qantas flight.

All fixed...

The video should display and fit to the screen size you have. In other words it will shrink to a mobile phone display and expand automatically to fit on a 24 inch 1680 x 1050 monitor size.

Do you mean something like this: I copied the address of the YouTube video which was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKGZmqhDeFo and simply pasted it into this post and it was converted into an in post video. If I post the same link you posted in the Harrison Ford post I get: So as you can see it works in the forums but obviously not in a reply post withing the video library. I will look into it and see if that is possible

Went to my eye specialist as my eyesight is extremely bad now. I have had a detached retina in one eye for about 6 months, my bad eye which now has a plastic lens, a cornea graph and still can't see out of it, which has now got worse. I close my eyes and I still see a coloured lit area that makes it hard to go to sleep. My good eye has a cataract so I see double and my glasses are pretty darn strong already so basically I can't see out of one eye, see double with the other and having dancing lights when I close my eyes and try to sleep. They are stuffed It was hard enough trying to land when you have no 3rd dimension to know how high you are or how far away things are but now seeing double and on an eye steroid every day due to 2 cornea rejections it was time to hang up the headset.