Flying in the wet season seminar

The top end wet season in Australia presents various hazards for pilots flying under visual flight rules (VFR). Poor visibility, severe turbulence, icing and lighting are some of the challenges typical at this time of year and occur regularly during the wet season.

The wet season begins at the start of November and finishes at the end of April. The majority of Darwin's 1700mm average rainfall occurs during the wet season.

There is also an increase in temperature, ranging from 25C to 33C with increased humidity.

Find out when our next wet season AvSafety seminars are scheduled.

If you missed our previous events, you can view recordings previous Darwin Wet Season seminars on the CASA Briefing YouTube channel.

2018 Flying in the wet season seminar

Our Aviation safety advisor, Tim Penney, hosted the 2018 live seminar focusing on operational hazards and decision making. This allows pilots to operate safely in these challenging environments.

We draw from the real-life experiences of subject matter experts who tell stories of their own close calls.

We also discuss the procedures and requirements that pilots need to be aware from our point of view, when flying in these conditions.

Watch on YouTube

2018 Weather to Fly - Wet season operations live webinar

Experts discuss what some of the typical hazards that general aviation pilots face during a wet season in the top end of Australia.

In this webinar, our Aviation safety advisor Tim Penney hosts:

Harry Fabb-Burns from the Bureau of Meteorology
Cameron Marchant, head of Flight Standards in Darwin.

Watch the 2018 weather to fly seminar on YouTube.

2021 Flying in the wet season seminar

The 2021 Darwin wet season seminar took place on Wednesday 20 October 2021 and was hosted by our Aviation Safety Advisor, Terry Horsam.

This seminar focused on operational hazards and decision making in the challenging and dynamic wet season weather. Subject matter experts shared their experience of close calls and lessons learnt.

This seminar presented a new case study – the examination of an incident involving a Cessna 210.

Senior Australian Safety Transport Bureau investigator Peter Ayre, who analysed the factors behind this incident, discusses the incident and his key aviation safety message from the analysis.

You’ll learn how to make better and more rational decisions when managing the many hazards associated with wet season flying.

Other guest presenters:

Captain Ian Silvester, Airnorth training and checking pilot. With more than 20 years of experience flying in the Top End, Ian’s operated small VFR aircraft, Embraer Brasilia, and E-Jet types.
Harry Burns-Fabb, Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). An aviation weather forecaster with years of experience up north, his personal interests include monsoonal activity and the challenges in predicting the weather in this dynamic environment.
Squadron Leader James (Jimmy) Lee, Darwin Air Traffic Control. Jimmy is currently operations commander and check controller in approach.

Watch on YouTube

Last updated:

23 Dec 2021