Boeing 737 incident near Canberra, Au, October 17, 2012
On October 17, 2012 at about 9:45 am local time, a Boeing 737, registered VHVXB, was involved in an incident near Canberra. It was flown under rules the NTSB did not record. The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 17, 2012 · about 9:45 am local time
- Place
- Canberra, Australia
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- The NTSB record does not give the injuries.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737 838 · all 737s on the register
- Registration
- VHVXB · no longer on the register · serial 30101
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · rules the NTSB did not record
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 17, 2012, about 2045 local time, a Boeing 737-838, registration VH-VXB, descended below the assigned altitude and below the minimum safe altitude for the area of operation. Air traffic control received a minimum safe altitude warning. The incident is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. Inquiries regarding this incident should be directed to: Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) P.O. Box 967, Civic Square Canberra A.C.T. 2608 Australia
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
The flight
- Departed from: YPAD Adelaide
- Destination: YSCB Canberra
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.