Transair was an airline

Airline

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 based in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...

 cancelled the Air Operator's Certificate

Air Operator's Certificate

An air operator's certificate is the approval granted from a national aviation authority to an aircraft operator to allow it to use aircraft for commercial purposes. This requires the operator to have personnel, assets and system in place to ensure the safety of its employees and the general public...

, at the request of Transair, on 4 December 2006 . Transair ceased all operations from that date. This action followed investigations by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is the Australian national aviation authority , the government statutory authority responsible for the regulation of civil aviation.-History:...

 and Australian Transport Safety Bureau

Australian Transport Safety Bureau

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air, sea and rail travel. The Australian Transport Safety...

 into the airline's safety after the fatal accident of one of Transair's aircraft on 7 May 2005.

History

As of December 2006 the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has referred the owners of Transair, Lessbrook, to the director of public prosecutions for failing to report at least 25 incidents, as required by law, to the Bureau. These include seven reportable incidents between 1 July 2003 and the fatal crash on 7 May 2005, including gear failures, cabin pressurisation warnings and flap problems . Transair provided aircraft for the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 regional airline Big Sky Express

Big Sky Express

Big Sky Express was an airline based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established and started operations in 2004 and was an Australian community airline operating scheduled domestic passenger services in the north western part of New South Wales...

, operating from Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 to Grafton

Grafton, New South Wales

The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...

, Taree

Taree, New South Wales

Taree is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of around 20,000 people and is the centre of a significant agricultural district. It is 16 km from the sea coast,...

, Gunnedah

Gunnedah, New South Wales

Gunnedah is a town and Local government area in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. 7,542 people lived in the town of Gunnedah in 2006, including 931 indigenous people ....

 and Inverell

Inverell, New South Wales

Inverell is a town in northern New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Macintyre River. It is also the centre of Inverell Shire. Inverell is located on the Gwydir Highway on the western slopes of the Northern Tablelands. It has a temperate climate...

. Transair was formally notified of the decision to suspend its Air Operators Certificate on 27 November 2006 . As a result Big Sky Express was forced to suspend airline operations and the majority of its routes were awarded to other regional airlines.
The company no longer exists in Australia, but CEO Les Wright moved to Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

 where he continued operating Transair New Guinea.

Incidents and accidents

• 7 May 2005 - A Fairchild Metro 23
  Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner
  The Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
  
   crashed at Lockhart River, Queensland
  Lockhart River, Queensland
  Lockhart River is a coastal Aboriginal community situated on the eastern coast of Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. The population consists mostly of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, whose ancestors were forcibly moved to the area beginning in 1924...
  
  , killing both crewmembers and all 13 passengers aboard. This aircraft was operating under the name of Cairns-based company Aero-Tropics
  Aero-Tropics Air Services
  Lip-Air Pty Ltd, operating as Aero-Tropics Air Services , was an airline based in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Its main base was Cairns Airport, with its operating hub at Horn Island Airport.-History:...
  
  , which is also under investigation by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA.) Despite evidence that Transair's poor operational record and cost-cutting culture was a contributing factor to the Lockhart River crash, an Inquest by the Queensland Coroner found that Transair and its CEO/Chief Pilot/Check and Training Officer/Company Secretary had no responsibility for the incident.
• 31 August 2010 - Former Transair principal Les Wright was killed on Misima Island
  Misima Island
  Misima is a volcanic island in the northwest of Louisiade Archipelago within Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. The island measures 40 km by 10 km and has an area of 202,5 km². It is located some 20 km north of the northwest extreme of the barrier reef of Vanatinai at Isu Raua Raua Island,...
  
  when his plane slid off an airstrip and crashed into trees.