"Light" aircraft crashes near Bendigo

[Bonniciwah]

Early reports, the story linked to says one man had died but ABC news reports that two men were injured. No talk of what kind of aircraft it is yet.


Plane crashes at Huntly | Bendigo Advertiser (http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/427247/plane-crashes-at-huntly/?cs=79)

[Wallsofchina]

Bendigo Advertiser says one dead and two injured, aircraft came down on strip at Huntly

[VH-XXX]

That looks suspiciously like a powerline right above the wreckage.

[TunaBum]

Power line looks a bit low - perhaps is further away than appears in photo...

TB

[Lookleft]

In addition to your powers of observation 3X the article states that it clipped power lines although why put a strip in close proximity to power lines is a mystery.

[Bonniciwah]

ABC reporting it was a C-172.

[TunaBum]

One dead after crash near private air strip - Yahoo!7 News (http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/article/15243885/one-dead-after-crash-near-private-air-strip/)

Seems it is VH-TK?

TKA - Navajo ?

TB :sad:

[Bonniciwah]

That Ch7 pic makes it look like a twin, but it's a C-172 flipped on what was its roof. There's a few 172 with VH-TK... rego.

[VH-XXX]

I should have elaborated.... the power line is still there. Suggests that it didn't plough through it, otherwise it might have come down with the aircraft.

[VH-Cheer Up]

I should have elaborated.... the power line is still there. Suggests that it didn't plough through it, otherwise it might have come down with the aircraft. Seems like it did...

Police say the men, from Montrose, were flying to Bendigo in a Cessna 172 and attempting to land at a private airstrip at Bagshot when they clipped power lines.

The plane brought down the power lines and landed on its roof, bursting into flames shortly after.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said one survivor was in a critical condition suffering from serious burns. A second survivor is in a stable condition with lacerations and abrasions.

Both have been flown to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Police say they are still attempting to notify the next of kin of the men.

About 122 Powercor customers in the area are without power. A spokesperson said crews had just gained access to the site and hoped to have power restored around 9pm tonight.

[rioncentu]

OMG how could anyone survive that (based on the photo)

Nasty stuff

[mickk]

Dont hit me, but I wonder if helmets should be, well not compulsory for light a/c but perhaps be made available. Im not saying the two gents in hospital would not have had such severe head injuries, just putting it out there.

Having had my share of experiences in light a/c, if I was offered one for take off and landing, knowing what I know now, Id put it on. Its not going to hurt.

[VH-XXX]

Have some mates that used to wear helmets in their ultralights without fail but never continued with it. Certainly not a bad idea. There are many that also believe that helmets should be worn in cars too.

[Elevator Driver]

Have some mates that used to wear helmets in their ultralights without fail but never continued with it. Certainly not a bad idea. There are many that also believe that helmets should be worn in cars too.

Then you'll need the 'neck brace' that you see race car drivers wearing, as sometime ago they figured out that the additional weight of the helmet + high G's isn't good for the poor old neck!

But where does it end??? a nice padded room perhaps? :confused:

[VH-XXX]

TKI

Investigation: AO-2012-140 - Wirestrike -VH-TKI, Cessna 172, near Bagshot, Victoria, 29 October 2012 (http://atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2012/aair/ao-2012-140.aspx)

[metalman2]

Man ,that was fast, I'd like to see the RAA move as quickly, it would dispell a huge amount of speculation that follows these incidents
Met

[DancingDog]

helmets
bubblewrap too? :rolleyes:

[MakeItHappenCaptain]

Certainly not a bad idea. There are many that also believe that helmets should be worn in cars too.


Like the fcuking dickywhackers that wanted to introduce airbags on motorbikes in the 90's?

Let's face it. If the accident is going to be that severe in a plane to warrant a helmet, you're gonna be pretty well fcuked anyhoo.:cool:

[mickjoebill]

Let's face it. If the accident is going to be that severe in a plane to warrant a helmet, you're gonna be pretty well fcuked anyhoo.

You have to be conscious to extract yourself, help extract others and administer first aid. An otherwise benign knock on the head that renders you unable to extract yourself from a ticking bomb is all it takes

So obviously a helmet will improve survivability of some accidents.
The rotor world has come to accept this, perhaps as it is a more hazardous occupation and one where there are now enough examples to prove the point.

In this case at least two survived the impact. We can speculate if the third survived the impact but was unconcous and unable to extract himself.

The mercy flight crash in Victoria earlier this year, where at least one passenger survived the impact, but later died, perhaps is an instance where helmets could have made a difference.

Remember it may be your passenger that rescues you, wouldn't you like to see them wearing a helmet? http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/thumbs.gif

Mickjoebill

[HarleyD]

The use of Aircrew Protective Helmets has the function of keeping the person conscious during the immediate post impact period in order to allow evacuation during this critical time where the aircraft catches fire or sinks..

I have two damaged flight helmets, one of which definately saved my life by being able to kick my way out of the inverted wreckage as it was becoming engulfed by fire.

Facile comments such as Makeithappencaptains show a a complete lack of understanding of the use of ppe in this application.

If i had access to a helmet to wear whilst flying into/out of a marginal strip i may just use it, however nothing beats adequate strip length and obstacle clearance. Would helmets have helped here? Hard to say, but they are not to be dismissed out of hand, neither should they be mandated, just considered.

HD

[remoak]

Like the fcuking dickywhackers that wanted to introduce airbags on motorbikes in the 90's?

And guess what... the latest motorcycle jackets have... airbags!

Just one example... there are many...

Armored Air Jackets Motorcycle jacket with airbag protection! (http://www.armoredairjackets.com/)

Personally I would prefer to see a little more though going in to making the "survival cell" in aircraft stronger, very few people will be prepared to wear a helmet for routine flying... this accident was a routine flight until the last few seconds.

It's hard enough getting people to wear life jackets for over-water flights...

[VH-Cheer Up]

Personally I would prefer to see a little more thought going in to making the "survival cell" in aircraft stronger

Isn't the age of the fleet part of the problem? People are flying around every day in 30 and 40 year old aircraft that won't ever have improved survival cells.

I agree it's a great idea for the future but I can't see the GA fleet being turned over at a rate that's going to see the average club pilot being able to sign out a significantly safer aircraft inside the next 25 years.

[CPT733]

A new research investigation has found
that more than 40 per cent of aviation
wirestrikes that occur in Australia
were not reported to the ATSB. This
investigation commenced following
anecdotal information from stakeholders
who were aware of more wirestrikes
than had been reported.
Wirestrikes pose an on-going danger
to Australian aviators. They can happen
to any low-flying aircraft involved in any
operation, such as aerial agricultural,
other aerial work, recreational or scenic
flights. Intrigued by the possibility that
this lack of reporting was common,
the ATSB reached out to electricity
distribution companies, asking for
information. And the electricity
companies delivered.
Before this investigation, 166 wirestrikes
were reported to the ATSB between
July 2003 and June 2011. The new data
from the electricity companies, however,
revealed another 101 occurrences that
had not been reported to the ATSB. At
least 40 percent of the wirestrikes in
Australia had never been formally tallied.
‘And it’s possible that the incidence
of wirestrikes may actually be even
higher,’ said Dr Godley, the ATSB’s
Manager of Research Investigations
and Data Analysis. ‘There are several
reasons for us to believe that. Firstly,
a major telecommunications company
did not have a single repository of this
information to be able to provide the
ATSB with information of wirestrikes on
its network. In addition, not all wirestrikes
result in a broken wire or interrupted
power supply, and so are not recorded
by electricity distribution companies.
And then there’s the fact that disused
overhead wires are not tracked, so
when they are damaged by an aircraft,
electricity companies aren’t notified.
Finally, there are many private power
lines out there, and we don’t have any
figures for them.’’
‘We’re urging pilots, and all aviation
stakeholders, to report any wirestrike to
the ATSB even if there’s no damage to
the aircraft and/or no injuries. There may
not even be any damage to the wires.
But the more we know, the better we
can do our job, which is to make flying in
Australia safer.’
The report Underreporting of Aviation
Wirestrikes is available on the ATSB
website at Australian Transport Safety Bureau Homepage (http://www.atsb.gov.au)
Notifications of safety related events can
be made via the toll free number
1800 011 034 (available 24/7) or via the
ATSB website. 


Only a 2 months after this from ATSB

[DeRated]

Strip location:
S36 40 33 E144 23 16

I drive past here occasionally and every time I see the windsock I go "Huh!".

You can only see the hangar from the road as the strip runs downhill, and appears shorter than it is (from the road).

Google Earth is a bit fuzzy, but further east the powerline is about 30 metres north of the treeline.

I'll have a look tomorrow when I go past.

[Clearedtoreenter]

This is what we need....
Bicycle airbag | portable bicycle helmet (http://news.drive.com.au/drive/bike-news/world-first-the-bicycle-airbag-20101103-17d64.html)

[Debby Nair]

Does anyone have names of passengers or pilot? Thanks

[gileraguy]

Cheer Up

A Cirrus could still strike that wire too mate!

The age of the fleet has nothing to do with hazard minimization or identification of hazards that are not part of the aircraft...

Aren't aircraft like good wine and women, getting better with age?

Isn't the riskiest flight the one AFTER 100hrly?

[VH-XXX]

I understand that permission to land at this field has been withdrawn until further notice by the operator until changes to the procedures have been made. It appears to be a maintenance facility.

[Clearedtoreenter]

Gilerguy
There might be something in that. Even the newer Cessnas have air bags and much stronger seats and mountings with better head support that might increase survivability.... if they actually work. Have to admit some of those older planes with weedy seat frames, no headrests and minimal restraints do look a bit dodgy when compared to the average car these days.

[VH-Cheer Up]

Cheer Up

A Cirrus could still strike that wire too mate!

The age of the fleet has nothing to do with hazard minimization or identification of hazards that are not part of the aircraft...

Aren't aircraft like good wine and women, getting better with age?

Isn't the riskiest flight the one AFTER 100hrly?


Agreed but not my point. I meant that you can make rules about airbags, aircraft retrieval parachutes etc but they can't be easily retrofitted. The aviation fleet is older than our road fleet. And even on the roads there are cars without air bags, stability systems and antilock brakes.

[gileraguy]

All new cars have to be fitted with ESC by law now.

Surely the weedy seats met strength standards for their COA originally.

No matter how safe your aircraft, it's always better to stay out of the wires...

[Debby Nair]

Trying again - does anyone know the names of the pilot or passengers in TKI?

Thanks

[TunaBum]

No names appear to have been released Debbie. Perhaps you can PM "Robbo" on The Aussie Aviator site as he says he knows pilot:

http://www.****************.net/threads/one-dead-two-injured-in-bendigo-plane-crash.34778/

Good luck.

(edit: hmmmm seems PPRuNe dont like us mentioning the opposition - even in a link.:rolleyes:)

TB :uhoh:

[FokkerInYour12]

Here's an idea for an inventor:

We've all seen or heard about holding a fluorescent tube underneath high voltage power lines and seeing it light up.

Could such a "free" power source (induction loops I think they are called) be used for bright _flashing_ arrays of LEDs, visible even in daylight?

Install several of these along power lines.

Cost? Maybe $150 each. Mass produced by Chinese: Maybe $40.

Intelligent power companies would simply install them at the next scheduled maintenance. LEDs routine last 10,000+ hours although I don't know if this is affected by cycling, so they could conceivably last "a lifetime" and save many more.

[KRviator]

They're already out there. And they talk to you too, broadcasting on the local area frequency when an aircraft is calculated to be approaching too closely to the power lines or radio tower. The power line system uses the magnetic field surrounding the cable itself to energize the doodad.

The FAA I believe has even certified the OCAS (http://www.ocasinc.com) system to enable all those 2,000' high towers to have their beacon lights off at night until a plane gets too close...:eek: