Uncertainty over Kokoda crash report

Papua New Guinea's only air accident investigator had been close to finishing a
report into a plane crash that killed 13 people, including nine Australians, when
his contract expired.
Sid O'Toole has been investigating the crash of an Airlines PNG Twin Otter plane,
which killed seven Victorians and two Queenslanders en route to the Kokoda Track on
August 11 last year.
Two PNG pilots and a Japanese tourist also died.
Mr O'Toole is concerned about the future of his investigation, after his contract
with PNG's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was not renewed when it expired on July
11.
"I don't know what's happening, my contract is not renewed and my work permit
expires," Mr O'Toole told AAP.
"Now there is talk I will be hired as a consultant but there are problems as to
whether the CAA can do this legally," he said.
Mr O'Toole told AAP he had been close to finishing his final report, and he did not
want to speculate on why his contract was not renewed.
"I am the only investigator in the country, now this, so it shows how important air
safety is for PNG," he said.
In the past, he has repeatedly called for more government support for aviation safety.
The Department of Transport, which oversees the CAA, did not immediately return
AAP's calls for comment.
Mr O'Toole said his first priority at present was visiting his sick wife in Brisbane.
"I hope all is resolved by the time I come back," he said.