QNH1013.2
22nd Sep 2006, 05:50
Could be good news for Experimental category after no faults were found with the aircraft engine or control systems.
Pilot in fatal crash 'disorientated'
A KIT plane that crashed just metres from a busy Brisbane road, killing the pilot, had no mechanical defects but the pilot was disorientated, a report says.
John Savina, 51, was killed when his two-seater Lancair 320-VH-BST crashed on March 31 this year.
It went down on land bordering Kessels Road and the Queensland Health Scientific Services Facility at Coopers Plains, in Brisbane's south.
Mr Savina, who had obtained his private pilot's licence a year earlier, was flying his amateur-built Lancair from Townsville to Archerfield aerodrome when he crashed 4km short of his destination.
At the time, police hailed his courage for managing to keep the aircraft away from homes, traffic and businesses in the area.
The investigation is ongoing, but an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released today found no structural or flight-control defects with the plane.
The ATSB said Mr Savina had told the Archerfield Aerodrome controller he was having trouble finding the aerodrome in rain and low cloud just moments before the crash.
Ten minutes before he died, Mr Savina had contacted the controller and said he was new to the area and would appreciate some help.
After following direction from the controller, Mr Savina said he believed he could fly visually to Archerfield.
Four minutes later he inquired about cloud conditions before telling the controller he had not yet seen the aerodrome.
"The controller asked the pilot if he had the aerodrome in sight. The pilot said that he did not, adding, `I feel I've overflown it'," the report said.
"The controller advised that radar information indicated that the aircraft was north of the aerodrome and he suggested that the pilot continue to turn left."
The pilot acknowledged the transmission but crashed less than a minute later.
Pilot in fatal crash 'disorientated'
A KIT plane that crashed just metres from a busy Brisbane road, killing the pilot, had no mechanical defects but the pilot was disorientated, a report says.
John Savina, 51, was killed when his two-seater Lancair 320-VH-BST crashed on March 31 this year.
It went down on land bordering Kessels Road and the Queensland Health Scientific Services Facility at Coopers Plains, in Brisbane's south.
Mr Savina, who had obtained his private pilot's licence a year earlier, was flying his amateur-built Lancair from Townsville to Archerfield aerodrome when he crashed 4km short of his destination.
At the time, police hailed his courage for managing to keep the aircraft away from homes, traffic and businesses in the area.
The investigation is ongoing, but an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report released today found no structural or flight-control defects with the plane.
The ATSB said Mr Savina had told the Archerfield Aerodrome controller he was having trouble finding the aerodrome in rain and low cloud just moments before the crash.
Ten minutes before he died, Mr Savina had contacted the controller and said he was new to the area and would appreciate some help.
After following direction from the controller, Mr Savina said he believed he could fly visually to Archerfield.
Four minutes later he inquired about cloud conditions before telling the controller he had not yet seen the aerodrome.
"The controller asked the pilot if he had the aerodrome in sight. The pilot said that he did not, adding, `I feel I've overflown it'," the report said.
"The controller advised that radar information indicated that the aircraft was north of the aerodrome and he suggested that the pilot continue to turn left."
The pilot acknowledged the transmission but crashed less than a minute later.