The 48-year-old pilot of a R44 Robbo has been killed after his rotary-wing machine crashed in unknown circumstances near Mudgee in central west New South Wales

"The crash occurred around 25 kilometres south-west of Mudgee" - the ATSB is to investigate and are sending three crash investigators to the site

Airline boss John Hardy is relieved after misunderstanding the contents of a letter that the OZ Government air safety regulator had sent to him wherein it raised concerns over the training of pilots apparently in connection with a flight simulator

On clarification "...CASA spokesman Peter Gibson says the regulator raised concerns with Hardy but did not force it to ground flights" - however the airline side of operations does remain grounded after two chief pilots failed proficiency tests

CASA in their wisdom have grounded the NT's family based Darwin airline operator along with flying school and charter late Friday over perceived safety issues within the administrative area of the company

"CASA is not satisfied with the company's pilot training and wants to use a different flight simulator" - 125 staff members face the prospect of been unemployed over Christmas - New Year festive season