ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 264475
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| Date: | Wednesday 23 June 2021 |
| Time: | 11:22 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna A150M Aerobat |
| Owner/operator: | Sunshine Coast Aero Club Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-CYO |
| MSN: | A1500655 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cedarton, 6km west of Peachester, QLD -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Training |
| Departure airport: | Sunshine Coast Airport, QLD (MCY/YBSU) |
| Sunshine Coast Airport, QLD (MCY/YBSU) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Two private pilots contracted an aerobatics instructor to provide aerobatic flight training. On the morning of 23 June 2021, the three pilots gathered at the Sunshine Coast Airport, Queensland, for a pre-flight briefing. The briefing contained theoretical information about spin training and recovery techniques, which were intended for the practical component of the aerobatic flights that day. The pilots had hired a Cessna A150M Aerobat, registered VH-CYO, from the Sunshine Coast Aero Club for the practical flight training.
At 11:03 local time, VH-CYO took off from the Sunshine Coast Airport, with the instructor and one of the student aerobatic pilots on board. The flight was being conducted under visual flight rules (VFR), and visual meteorological conditions existed during the flight.
The aircraft departed to the south-west and climbed to about 6,000 ft above mean sea level (AMSL). It arrived at the area intended to conduct aerobatics about 20 minutes after departure.
Within the last 90 seconds of the flight, the aircraft turned left, decelerated while maintaining altitude, and then descended rapidly. Shortly after, at about 11:22, the aircraft impacted terrain. The aircraft was destroyed and the two occupants were fatally injured.
Contributing factors
- While the student and instructor were conducting aerobatic spin training starting at 5,800 ft above ground level, for reasons that could not be established, the aircraft did not fully recover from a spin before impact with terrain.
Other factors that increased risk
- It is likely that the aerobatics instructor had no flight experience conducting spinning and/or spin instruction in the Cessna A150 Aerobat or similar variants. It was also considered probable that they did not seek advice from an experienced aerobatic instructor on the A150 type about the aircraft’s spin characteristics.
- The spin training theory provided by the instructor to the 2 aerobatics students was generic in nature, and did not highlight the limitations of the Mueller/Beggs spin recovery technique or provide guidance on the method recommended in the Cessna A150 Pilot’s Operation Handbook, as stipulated in the Civil Aviation Safety Authority aerobatic instruction procedures and guidance material.
- It was likely that the aerobatics instructor intended to practice the Mueller/Beggs method of spin recovery during the accident flight in the Cessna A150 and was likely unaware that the aircraft type was one of the few types that would not recover from a spin to the left utilising that technique.
- On the day of the accident the aircraft operator was not utilising a flight following procedure to identify if an aircraft was overdue, nor were they required to under the current regulations. Therefore, the overdue aircraft was not identified and reported as missing for 3 hours after it was due to return.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-06-24/qld-two-killed-in-light-plane-crash-sunshine-coast/100239728
https://mypolice.qld.gov.au/news/2021/06/23/fatal-plane-crash-sunshine-coast/
http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2021/aair/ao-2021-025/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Jun-2021 12:35 | Pineapple | Added |
| 23-Jun-2021 17:45 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Phase, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 24-Jun-2021 03:09 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 22-Sep-2021 06:35 | harro | Updated [Time, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 10-Aug-2022 12:30 | harro | Updated [Phase, Nature, Narrative, Accident report] |
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