ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 253804
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| Date: | Friday 23 April 2021 |
| Time: | c. 12:30 |
| Type: |  Van's RV-7A |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-XWI |
| MSN: | 73427 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 90km S of Charters Towers, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Winton Airport, QLD (WIN/YWTN) |
| Bowen Airport, QLD (ZBO/YBWN) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Van’s RV-7A, registered VH-XWI, was being operated on a private flight under the visual flight rules (VFR) from Winton to Bowen, Queensland, Australia. The pilot, the sole occupant and the owner of the aircraft, had been on a multi-day tour in company with 3 other pilots, each operating their own aircraft.
About 2 hours after departing Winton, and about 90 km south of Charters Towers, the aircraft sustained an in-flight break-up. The pilot was fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.
The ATSB found that the pilot departed Winton with a high risk of encountering adverse weather conditions along the planned route. About 100 km into the flight, overhead Catumnal Station, the pilot most likely entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) and lost control of the aircraft several times, recovering control within 50 ft of the ground. The pilot then turned back towards Winton.
About 11 km into the return leg, the pilot resumed track to Bowen, climbing to above 10,000 ft. The pilot flew at multiple altitudes between 10,000 ft and 500 ft above the ground, most likely to avoid weather along the track. The pilot again likely entered weather conditions before becoming spatially disorientated, resulting in loss of aircraft control. This led to the airspeed limitations of the aircraft being exceeded before rudder flutter structurally compromised the tail group, leading to a catastrophic airframe failure and in-flight break-up.
There were no operational reasons for the pilot to continue the flight to Bowen, and the pilot probably had a self-imposed motivation or pressure to continue the flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-23/qld-pilot-critically-injured-after-light-plane/100091708
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7223279/man-dies-in-north-qld-light-plane-crash/?cs=14231
https://twitter.com/CiaraEJones/status/1385487181163073539
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VHXWI/history/20210422/2155Z/YWTN/YBWN
ATSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Apr-2021 06:49 | gerard57 | Added |
| 23-Apr-2021 07:15 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Source] |
| 23-Apr-2021 07:16 | harro | Updated [Total fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source] |
| 23-Apr-2021 07:36 | gerard57 | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Apr-2021 09:00 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Source, Narrative] |
| 23-Apr-2021 19:42 | harro | Updated [Category] |
| 30-Apr-2021 23:15 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative, Category] |
| 09-Nov-2022 10:28 | harro | Updated [Category] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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