Speed cited in plane crash

HIGH speed and a steep descent have been blamed for a light plane crash at Woodstock that seriously injured the pilot and his daughter.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau ( ATSB) released its investigation findings last week following the crash on January 2.

Pilot Ian Smith, 60, suffered a heart attack after his twoseater, single- engine aircraft crashed while landing at Ace Aviation.

The amateur- built Van’s RV- 6A aircraft flipped at 10.29am after an 85- minute flight, trapping Mr Smith and his daughter Carmen.

The ATSB report said the plane landed heavily then bounced back into the air.

As it made contact with the ground again, the nose landing gear collapsed.

Video footage taken from a recording device on the aircraft’s underside was analysed in the investigation.

“The propeller struck the runway and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted,” the report stated.

“The pilot and passenger were seriously injured and the aircraft sustained substantial damage.”

The report found that the crash was caused by the aircraft landing “heavily at a high rate of descent and ground- speed, with the nose wheel touching down very soon after the main wheels”.

ATSB spokesman Michael Walker said the plane descended too fast when landing.

“The report says the aircraft touched down at a speed of 700 ft per minute, that’s very high. Normally you’d want lower speeds than that in final approach,” he said.

“Obviously the aircraft landed heavily and that would explain the damage.”

Mr Walker said ATSB did not conduct a full investigation, rather produced a limited- scope, fact- gathering report based on photo and video footage and other information provided to the government authority.

As such the cause of high speed was unknown.

“We don’t know exactly what’s happened ...” he said.

“The pilot may not have anticipated where the wind was coming from, the pilot could have been distracted.

“There’s a whole range of reasons why someone might not conduct the approach at the appropriate speed.”

Mr Walker said accident reports were generated to assist the industry for educational purposes.

The ATSB’s function is to improve safety and public confidence in the aviation, marine and rail modes of transport and promote safety. the