Mid-air collision in Australia

[Xasthur]

For all of you pilot types out there, this took place around the corner from my house today.



A student pilot on his first solo flight (pictured) collided with a Piper Warrior on his climb out from Moorabbin airport and crashed into a house (which was empty, luckily for them). The Piper Warrior was piloted by another pilot from the same flight school but had an instructor with him who took control and landed the Warrior safely with his port horizontal stabiliser missing.

Obviously the Cessna pilot died but no one else was injured.

[deSelys]

Awww... As someone freshly out of student status, this story hits home vividly despite the distance.

Apparently both planes "had just taken off and were still in terminal control" link.

I see that YMMB is a big airport (5x2 RWYs) and has a Class C CTR. I wonder if the controllers were busy with a lot of IFR traffic and had to let the VFR flights do their own separation. Where I'm flying (also a class C CTR), the controllers keep a sharp "eye" on student pilots doing their first circuits solo.

Blue Skies to that poor student pilot.

[MiloMorai]

Sad.

The two-seater single piston Cessna, in which the lone pilot was killed, was registered in Australia on June 24 1976.

Media gaff, again as usual.

[CAP1]

For all of you pilot types out there, this took place around the corner from my house today.

(Image removed from quote.)

A student pilot on his first solo flight (pictured) collided with a Piper Warrior on his climb out from Moorabbin airport and crashed into a house (which was empty, luckily for them). The Piper Warrior was piloted by another pilot from the same flight school but had an instructor with him who took control and landed the Warrior safely with his port horizontal stabiliser missing.

Obviously the Cessna pilot died but no one else was injured.

dam, that's a crying shame!!

i remember my first solo. i was actuall scared to death, and constantly re-checking everyting while i waited for the 3 aircraft in front of me to go. then when my turn came, i self announced(non-towered field), re-checked that no-one was on base, wrong base, final, or wrong final, pulled out onto 01, centered her up perfectly, smoothly applied throttle, and as i became airborne, fear totally dissappeared. it was one of the most exciting days of my life. pulled off 3 very perfect landings that day too.


 and yes, delsys....most towered airports around here(nj) keep close eyes on students, and first time solos too. when i did my forst towered airport solo, it was at TTN. it was very windy, and one of my landings went a bit long,. they realized i was going to have trouble making the taxiway they wanted me on, and immediatly cleared me for one they knew i could make with ease.


<<S>>

[Redd]

For all of you pilot types out there, this took place around the corner from my house today.

(Image removed from quote.)

A student pilot on his first solo flight (pictured) collided with a Piper Warrior on his climb out from Moorabbin airport and crashed into a house (which was empty, luckily for them). The Piper Warrior was piloted by another pilot from the same flight school but had an instructor with him who took control and landed the Warrior safely with his port horizontal stabiliser missing.

Obviously the Cessna pilot died but no one else was injured.

Hey Arch

That was my first school the plane crashed next to , didnt realise you lived around there . I lived in Cavanagh.

[eagl]

Solo student flying is pretty scary sometimes.  It sucks that this guy didn't get lucky.  We had a couple of student solos come real close to each other in the last few months and yea, all of us IPs feel a bit sick because they were pretty close to becoming sad statistics.  And the last two near-incidents I know of were cases where one or two students failed to clear their flightpath properly and nearly ran into another plane.  In one case, pure dumb luck saved them and in the other, one guy saw the conflict and maneuvered to stay clear.

Sending someone solo is a hard decision.  Crashing on initial solo is just sad.

[SD67]

I just saw it too Arch
I was dismayed that such a thing could occur but not that surprised when I read that both craft were piloted by student pilots. It seems the instructor beside the pilot of the Piper involved took control of the aircraft and brought it back in safely.
It is unfortunate that the plane that landed actually sustained the most damage in the collision incident. The Cessna appeared to be largely intact and crashed due to entering an unusual attitude following the contact that the student pilot on his first solo had neither the experience nor altitude to recover from.
Mind you it hasn't taken long for the media hysteria to get wound up and scumbags err I mean politicians are already falling over themselves to cash in in it at the expense of our already struggling GA industry.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/fiery-death-for-man-who-came-here-to-learn-to-fly/2008/08/28/1219516608662.html
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/student-pilot-killed-on-first-solo-flight/2008/08/27/1219516534027.html
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/trainee-pilots-should-practise-in-bush-20080828-44m7.html

[MrRiplEy[H]]

There have been a lot of air incidents these past months. Weird.

[CAP1]

Solo student flying is pretty scary sometimes.  It sucks that this guy didn't get lucky.  We had a couple of student solos come real close to each other in the last few months and yea, all of us IPs feel a bit sick because they were pretty close to becoming sad statistics.  And the last two near-incidents I know of were cases where one or two students failed to clear their flightpath properly and nearly ran into another plane.  In one case, pure dumb luck saved them and in the other, one guy saw the conflict and maneuvered to stay clear.

Sending someone solo is a hard decision.  Crashing on initial solo is just sad.

dude, you're a CFI?

then   to you, as i truely believe you guys have one of hte absolute hardest jobs in the country.

PLEASE PLEASE, do not take this as critisim.

if the students aren't able to clear themselves in a simple pattern, then i would think they're not ready to solo. it almost sounds like they're flying "inside" the airplane.
 i'm anal about my scans. i'm almost outside the cockpit too much, but i've never had another plane any closer to me than about 3/4 of a mile. i never ever wait if i'm in doubt. i maneuver gently, and predictably, so when the other guy finally notices me, he'll know what my intentions are.

 that being said, again,   .

 i don't honestly think i could ever do your job. you guys do not(for the most part) make anywhere near what you are worth.

<<S>>

[eagl]

dude, you're a CFI?

I'm not a CFI... yet... I guess.  I'm a USAF fighter pilot currently assigned to Sheppard AFB as a primary flight training instructor.  I've been flying the T-37 for the last year, and right now I'm transitioning to the new T-6.

I'm not sure what it would take to get my official CFI, but I think it would pretty much be a written test and a checkride with an FAA flight examiner since I have about 969 hours in the T-37 and about 900 IP hours.  But I'm pretty busy at work most of the time and I have a new baby at home, so I haven't had the time or inclination to get my CFI.  Maybe when I retire or if my last assignment is a desk job...

[CAP1]

I'm not a CFI... yet... I guess.  I'm a USAF fighter pilot currently assigned to Sheppard AFB as a primary flight training instructor.  I've been flying the T-37 for the last year, and right now I'm transitioning to the new T-6.

I'm not sure what it would take to get my official CFI, but I think it would pretty much be a written test and a checkride with an FAA flight examiner since I have about 969 hours in the T-37 and about 900 IP hours.  But I'm pretty busy at work most of the time and I have a new baby at home, so I haven't had the time or inclination to get my CFI.  Maybe when I retire or if my last assignment is a desk job...

congrats on your baby sir!

and i now think you have an even harder job.....and are probably more underpaid.

<<S>> and thank you for what you do for the rest of us sir!

[bcadoo]

I'm not a CFI... yet... I guess.  I'm a USAF fighter pilot currently assigned to Sheppard AFB as a primary flight training instructor.  I've been flying the T-37 for the last year, and right now I'm transitioning to the new T-6.

I'm not sure what it would take to get my official CFI, but I think it would pretty much be a written test and a checkride with an FAA flight examiner since I have about 969 hours in the T-37 and about 900 IP hours.  But I'm pretty busy at work most of the time and I have a new baby at home, so I haven't had the time or inclination to get my CFI.  Maybe when I retire or if my last assignment is a desk job...

You've been flying Tweets for about a year?  How much hearing have you lost?  I said 'HOW MUCH HEARING HAVE YOU LOST??'

Man they are loud.

[DiabloTX]

WHAT? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

[SD67]

I must post a correction.
It seems the Cessna did sustain some damage in the initial collision to the outer left wing, creasing the leading edge. This certainly would have made it difficult to fly. In any case the poor guy did not have enough altitude to recover from the spiral his aircraft ended up in after the contact.

[Fishu]

I must post a correction.
It seems the Cessna did sustain some damage in the initial collision to the outer left wing, creasing the leading edge. This certainly would have made it difficult to fly. In any case the poor guy did not have enough altitude to recover from the spiral his aircraft ended up in after the contact.

Isn't the horizontal stabilizer hit as well? or is it just a reflection? Maybe the elevator was jammed?

<edit>whops.. not vertical.