ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 299
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| Date: | Sunday 4 February 2001 |
| Time: | 18:00 |
| Type: |  Cessna 210L |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-BBI |
| MSN: | 21060471 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 1 km E of Lake Evella, Arnhem Land, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Ferry/positioning |
| Departure airport: | Lave Evella, NT |
| Elcho Island, NT | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
On 4 February 2001, the pilot, who was the sole occupant of the Cessna 210, was departing Lake Evella on a positioning flight to Elcho Island. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft takeoff and climb to about 400 ft above ground level. The aircraft then entered what was described as a `wing-over type manoeuvre' before descending steeply into the ground.
It was reported that, before the flight, the pilot had indicated his intention to conduct a low pass over the runway after takeoff. It was also reported that the pilot had occasionally conducted low passes on arrival and departure at the airstrip.
New evidence presented to the ATSB on 16 October 2003 revealed that the aircraft impacted the ground in a 30 degree nose-low attitude, with the engine operating at low power. The evidence indicated that an engineering examination found no evidence of any pre-existing system malfunction which would contribute to a loss of engine power. At the time of impact the propeller blade angles were close to the fine pitch stop. The examination concluded that the engine, propeller and their associated systems were not a factor in the accident.
The aircraft was considered to have stalled and briefly auto-rotated, during which the nose dropped into a steep nose-low attitude. To the untrained observer that may have looked like a wing-over type manoeuvre. During the attempted recovery, the pilot may have closed the throttle to reduce acceleration and height loss. The height at which the stall occurred was about 400 ft and calculations suggest that the time to ground impact was about 4 to 5 seconds and the speed at impact about 100 to 120 kts.
Witnesses reported that the engine was operating at high power until impact, indicating that the engine noise ceased about the time of impact. The new evidence presented to the ATSB indicates that the witnesses who reported hearing the engine noise were about 1000 metres from the aircraft and any change in engine noise would have taken about 3 seconds to reach them. That would indicate that the pilot may have closed the throttle soon after the aircraft entered the dive.
Sources:
1. http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2001/aair/aair200100591.aspx
2. http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/ntmc/judgements/documents/2003NTMC010_000.pdf (inquest into death of pilot)
3. https://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-aviation-questions/85206-lake-evella-crash-findings.html
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 4 January 1988 | VH-BBI | 0 | 2km SW of Point Plomer, NSW | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 21-Jan-2008 10:00 | ASN archive | Added |
| 11-Apr-2014 05:22 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 11-Jun-2017 15:39 | beaverspotter | Updated [Cn] |
| 07-Jun-2022 12:25 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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