Originally Posted by
Obidiah
Leigh Creek PAL has been problematic for well over a year, most of my arrivals result in orbiting over the top repeatedly trying to get them on and often someone on the ground has to turn them on. If the pilot and or aircraft were not rated or equipped for NVFR he would have no doubt had rising anxiety with a late arrival and little daylight remaining. A read of the ERSA NVFR procedures for YLEC would have likely ramped this up considerably for him and with the lights now not activating the stress levels could have been extreme. Of course this is all speculation, he may well have been a seasoned night pilot and was happily waiting overhead above LSALT and had an entirely unrelated other issue unfold. Either way there are now decent folk who have had the world ripped apart, all very sad.
Obidiah, as I stated before - the lights were definitely on. Witnessed by my husband who drove part way there ( & who is usually the person that has to go out there & turn them on for you & also do roo runs because the ARO can't be contacted after hours) & also by my son who could see the beacon flash over the top of the hills from our house which is 5km north.
DF.