Show overview
Close calls has been publishing since 2015, and across the 11 years since has built a catalogue of 60 episodes. That works out to roughly 7 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a roughly quarterly cadence.
Episodes typically run under ten minutes — most land between 5 min and 7 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Education show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 months ago, with 4 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2024, with 12 episodes published. Published by Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
From the publisher
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is a government body that regulates Australian aviation safety. We license pilots, register aircraft and oversee safety.
Latest Episodes
View all 60 episodesMix up in the salad bowl
Perfectly gauged response
Don't stop now
We've all had them: those flights that challenge the plan from the moment the wheels leave the ground. That's when distraction and frustration open the door for error. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/12/dont-stop-now/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tanks for nothing
The fundamentals of flight planning do not change, as this classic close call from 2008 demonstrates. A first flight in a new type was a fuel management challenge a young pilot nearly failed. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2026/01/tanks-for-nothing/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Fast-thinking fledgling
The textbook reactions of a low-hours pilot facing a deteriorating situation show how ab initio training works – if you listen and take its messages seriously. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/11/fast-thinking-fledging/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Blundering through the authority gap
Almost too late, a young pilot learns the importance of assertiveness as part of flight control. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/10/blundering-through-the-authority-gap/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reality under pressure
An insidious and subtle failure almost bring's a young commercial pilot's career to a premature end. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/08/reality-under-pressure/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Silent scream
Using your ears is a much less stressful way to maintain separation than relying on your eyes alone.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/062/silent-scream/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Positive climb
Audio adds a new dimension to this anonymous first officer's close call, first published in 2021. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/05/positive-climb/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A brutal hazing
Flight Safety Australia reader Nic Barnes discovers conditions are different in northern Australia. Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/03/a-brutal-hazing/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Double blind
The source of anxiety was in, or rather on, the pilot's face. But impatience was an even more effective blindfold. Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/02/double-blind/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Flight planning fail
Nothing emphasises the importance of flight planning like that knotted feeling in your gut when you have failed to do it. This pilot got that feeling when a cascade of minor circumstances overwhelmed a superficial plan. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/01/flight-planning-fail/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Earth, wind and water
The elements humble a newly qualified pilot.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/03/earth wind and water/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tropical chill
This is a story of ice. Not ice you put in a drink. Not ice that forms on an aircraft, but ice that can frighten and kill a pilot.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/10/tropical-chill/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Head on a swivel
Unpleasant close encounters as a low-hours commercial licence fledgling taught this now experienced airline transport pilot some lasting lessons.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/07/head-on-a-swivel/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bogged down in assumptions
A quick glance suggested everything would be okay – this was an expectations-driven illusion.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/07/bogged-down-in-assumptions/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ignore the sirens
In Greek mythology, the sirens' seductive voices lured mariners to their deaths. In modern aviation, the siren is pilot fixation, as Luke Bayly was lucky enough to discover early in his training. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/06/ignore-the-sirens/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One wrong turn
A recreational pilot's first flight after learning the basics of navigation unravels into an embarrassment that could have been a disaster. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/04/one-wrong-turn/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Planning for remote possibilities
The tiniest change of heading took this pilot out of his comfort zone.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/02/planning-for-remote-possibilities/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
I didn't plan on that
Sticking to a rigid schedule when circumstances have changed is the opposite of safe flight planning.Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/12/i-didnt-plan-on-that/.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.