One down at Mareeba

[aroa]

11.15 qld time. Angel bush a/c twin pusher crashed just after take off. Being a noisy thing ...here comes the Angel !!... I watched it lift off . Rate of climb was very shallow, and with the gear still down it turned right at about 100 ft. Didnt sound like full power on both either
As soon as it started to turn right , down wind, again at a very low speed...the outcome was obvious. I called out 'level up, level up.!'.just land straight ahead .but the pilot never heard me. The right wing went down, the turn tightened into the vertical and nose and right wing first bit the dust in a cornfield 1/2 k north from the strip.
Pleased to see NO smoke, No fire
Triple zero rang out, flooded with other callers no doubt and Ambos were quick on the scene.
Wx 38C wind .10 kt westerly. Elev 1560 ft... And the dernsity altitude is?? ( abt 4500 at a rough guess)
EMS helicopter from CNS has just arrived and landed on the road by the cornfield. 12.10
State of the pilot and any pax...I guess it will all be in the media tonight.
Bugger.

[Office Update]

Very sad!


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x426/mareba_05_jul_2018_1__f15a5430a1905f45490d9608c7c9efc1fd5fd6 01.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x426/mareba_05_jul_2018_26__fc40446df474150bea7296840883036107691 767.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x426/mareba_05_jul_2018_29__d0e40bcba7e7571c0c5a885b9cb78d998e7dd b78.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x426/mareeba_09_mar_2019_1__ddefec6139ef251dfabbff28c46ad10a39ebf db1.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x426/mareeba_09_mar_2019_2__21f3096ac04980b2548535eb32d5cc14e3613 9ea.jpg

[Office Update]

VH-IAZ, registered to AZUL Aviation at Cooktown, Qld, since Mar 2019.
Been in Australia since 2010.
Has worn many registrations over the years in Australia.

[RedwireBluewire]

So he was taking off to the north, with a westerly crosswind, turned right at 100ft towards all those big powerlines?

[PoppaJo]

I find it strange they were possibly attempting a field return at such height, when they were taking off in the direction of large fields straight ahead or banana fields which are great for landing on. The other direction is quite the opposite as many know.

The local operators don’t usually fly training in Cairns after 11 due density height.

[Sunfish]

ABC reporting two dead. Angel Aircraft model m44. Very sad.

[Lead Balloon]

Do they sell JetA1 at YMBA?

[Mumbai Merlin]

Yes they do sell Jet-A1 and Avgas from self help fixed installations. So lets not go down that track! Separate installations.

And why stop training after 11:00am? there are higher airstrips in the world with great density heights. The Aero Club may not have much trade after 11am simply because their 'trade' is all working a regular job. I can't image MAF not training after all their PNG Ops and other countries as well are all DH challenging. PoppaJo, you are way out wrong!

[Desert Flower]

Oh dear - that is very sad indeed.

DF.

[cowl flaps]

From BoM - Mareeba A/P

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/875x376/mba_wx_14_dec_af27fd4ac3d38be5747824d8e14226fe7137e728.jpg

[illusion]

From BoM - Mareeba A/P

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/875x376/mba_wx_14_dec_af27fd4ac3d38be5747824d8e14226fe7137e728.jpg
With a quoted single engine ceiling of 3800' (that will be at ISA) things would turn pear shaped rather quickly on one engine...

RIP

[Okihara]

Sad to see them go like this. RIP :sad:

[Squawk7700]

There’s a story in the Qld papers about how the 73 year old deceased pilot was the pilot of a flight that caused a major diplomatic incident, but I can’t get past the paywall. Does anyone have a link for what that is about?

[Car RAMROD]

Sq7... if I’m putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 4, Merauke and a Partenavia come to mind.

if however I just came up with 5, then I apologise for being incorrect.

[PoppaJo]

Yes they do sell Jet-A1 and Avgas from self help fixed installations. So lets not go down that track! Separate installations.

And why stop training after 11:00am? there are higher airstrips in the world with great density heights. The Aero Club may not have much trade after 11am simply because their 'trade' is all working a regular job. I can't image MAF not training after all their PNG Ops and other countries as well are all DH challenging. PoppaJo, you are way out wrong!
Sorry I should have rambled on more.

This part of the world, more specifically the Mareeba/Atherton area and further out west toward the gulf, is not training friendly in the afternoons due to severe thermals, large up/downdrafts, dust swirls, tropics weather. It’s a November to May thing. It’s just bumpy as ****. Not saying it’s not flyable, it’s just unpleasant, and needs ongoing attention in regards to what the aircraft is doing.

Just ask Marcus or Sally.

[Office Update]

SQ7, is it the Merauke business, or the Citation in Bouganville affair? Not sure myself..

[StudentPilot479]

This (https://www.couriermail.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CMWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Fnews%2Fqueenslan d%2Fmerauke-five-pilot-who-sparked-diplomatic-incident-killed-in-fnq-plane-crash%2Fnews-story%2Ff50821cab19556a57f245558c55528e5&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&nk=e6b256259a3d0122ff944878a8bac9a1-1576321009) is behind a paywall, but says it is the pilot of the 'Merauke 5'.

[Horatio Leafblower]

THE pilot from the ill-fated 2008 “Merauke Five” flight has tragically been killed in a plane crash in North Queensland.
William Scott-Bloxam, 73, and his 63-year-old passenger were killed when his twin-engine 44 Angel aircraft went down in a cornfield near the Mareeba Airport shortly after 11am today. (https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/multiple-casualties-feared-in-far-north-plane-crash/news-story/cfa73dd6e95d381277724f993d8d64d0)Mr Scott-Bloxam and his wife Vera were among a group of five who sparked an international incident in 2008 when a trip to the Papuan town of Merauke went horribly wrong.The trip – which was part sightseeing and part business – went awry when Indonesian authorities detained the group for entering without a visa.After initially being told they could pay a fine, the five Queenslanders were jailed and sentenced to terms of imprisonment of between two and three years.Their convictions were eventually overturned by the High Court, but they would spend nine months in detention before being allowed to return to Australia.“I feel like a goldfish that has escaped a pool of piranhas,’’ Mr Scott-Bloxam told The Courier-Mail after touching down on Horn Island in Torres Strait in 2009.

``It’s hard to imagine that you end up in the highest court in the land for a misdemeanour case.”At the time, the Federal Government was criticised for doing more to help convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby than the five Queenslanders.Today, the plane Mr Scott-Bloxam bought on his return to Australia – a rare Angel Aircraft Corporation twin-engine that is the only one of its kind in the country – crashed into the ground.https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/e57a9b6a1699f2512ce06846c67d6151?width=1024Emergency Services are on scene at a light plane crash at Rays Rd near the Mareeba Aerodrome on Saturday. Picture: Bronwyn WheatcroftPolice confirmed a 73-year-old Cooktown man – the pilot – and his passenger, a 63-year-old from Stuart, died at the scene of the crash.Forensic Crash Unit investigators were on scene and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Witnesses spoke of hearing the plane struggle as it flew overhead.

“I heard the aircraft, the engines were missing and back firing,” one witness posted to social media.

In a post on their Facebook page, the FNQ Aviation Museum said the aircraft was very rare.

“Our hearts go out to the two souls lost on today’s aircraft crash at Mareeba,” the post said.

“The Angel aircraft was unique and the only (of its) type in Australia and believed to have been one of few left in the world.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with their friends and family.”The Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a statement saying a team of investigators from Brisbane and Canberra were planning to travel to Mareeba to examine the wreckage and crash site.“As part of the investigation, ATSB investigators will also interview any witnesses, review aircraft and pilot records and weather information and conduct data recovery,” the statement said.Anyone who saw the crash should contact the ATSB on 1800 992 986.

[Sunfish]

What Poppajo said. Sally told me the same thing.

[Capt Fathom]

The local operators don’t usually fly training in Cairns after 11 due density height.

Ah...What?

What is so unique about Cairns.

[Hightimes]

Ah...What?

What is so unique about Cairns.
not a thing.

[PoppaJo]

The conditions are vastly different on each side of the rainforest. Cairns cops the Viz and rain issues but Mareeba has the thermal/downdraft sensation.

[geeup]

Someone’s dumped a lot of money on upgrading MAREEBA airport.

Any reason for the upgrades?

[Look Mum - no hands]

Hot and thermally, yes. Not ideal for abinitio instruction by lunchtime on hot days, yes. But nothing that would cause one to question a light twin departing with 2 pob! Certainly nothing worse than a lot of the country.

[Flingwing47]

RIP Scotty
the first day that my family moved into SC 18 in Saudia City Scotty walked across the road wearing a lava lava bearing a tray with a pitcher of ice cold beer and several glasses.
a real scallywag - loved his story of using a Migs exhaust to get #4 on his DC8 started as the Indians came over the hill

[aroa]

The Angel was departing off Runway 28...westerly , not north. Turned north. and thence tried for easterly..into oblivion. Very sad.
To me ...the big 'what if'...is... had his climb continued for another 200 mtrs, a right turn would have put him heading up the road...and a much safer arrival, at least for the occupants. Alas, not to be.
From that initial right turn is was unusually quieter., like reduced power on both...I heard no popping or banging of the exhausts...and all that hangs off the back.

Good question geeup..a bit like the Paradise dam, but only much smaller.
The once almost level all over the airfield land area, has now been over engineered to buggery with bloody great drains, a Suez canal with bund wall and dep culvert bear traps to snare passing a/c. Making the place more dangerous than it ever was.
Post completion of the project, the steep drop offs from the taxiway had to be re-done for a gentle slope, and the deep culverts ripped up and shifted further away. 1/2mil, 1 mil.$ ?..never mind plenty of tax dollars to throw around.

[Unusual-Attitude]

Stap easi wontok.

[wheels_down]

I don’t fly a lot GA but i see many pilots turning 100/200/300 ft after departure.

Is it not 500ft and why so many turn when they please?

[sms777]

Very sad indeed. There has been a few fatalities out of Mareeba over the years.
Just out of curiosity.....what type of engines fitted to the Angel?

[Car RAMROD]

Lycoming IO540

[Office Update]

A decade or so I was asked to prepare a performance evaluation on the Angel aircraft for operations in PNG. I have been able to find the submission I made at the time and it was far from favourable for the aircraft type.
The single engine ceiling was approximately 3700' at ISA sea level. And that was with an airframe that did not have a HF radio or Van 5/X DME antennae installed and adding to the drag.
Essentially; it was a single engine aircraft at all times in the event of an engine failure. At the time the factory was unable to provide sufficient data to suggest the aircraft would maintain a 1% climb at 5,000 feet for IFR. Indeed for IFR take-off and go-around the MTOW had to reduced considerably for the aircraft to achieve the required climb gradients.
The bottom line was that in ISA +15 at Port Moresby there was no S/E climb available and one shudders to think what negative performance there would have been at Mt. Hagen, Chimbu and Goroka. Maintaining runway heading and banking the dead wing 5 degrees towards the live engine would have been paramount to success.
The aircraft may have appealed to those with a requirement for VFR, short inter island sea level Ops. Just take a look at the wing and the undercarriage; it would make you cringe. I don't know how many were constructed, sold, or now still exist. Even the ownership of the 'Type Certificate' may be questionable.

Many years ago the Piper PA-23 Apache, if fitted with the 150hp engines was CASA/DCA mandated as a single engine aircraft for the purposes of crossing Bass Strait from Victoria to Tasmania. Always via King or Flinders Island. The upgrade to 160 hpp made no real difference either. There was no S/E performance at anything but very light weights at ISA S/L The particular aircraft I use as that example was/is VH-FAD which had a short career in PNG before returning to Australia. The aircraft flew into power lines and survived whilst being owned and operated by Groupair at Berwick, Victoria. The aircraft had an aftermarket 'long nose' conversion which actually aided the performance ever so slightly. Not sure where the aircraft is now.

The "Angels" are now looking after the Angel occupants.

[sms777]

Dunno.....i would have thought a couple of 540's in a reasonable light airframe would have turned it into a space shuttle.

[longrass]

There wouldn’t be too many people with a resume like his and a story book even longer. RIP Scotty.

[aroa]

Office U...interesting info there. I wonder if the guy at the helm was aware of its lack of performance, and mba was hot and high yesterday.
I don’t see many turning at 100’ after take off around here...unless there is a problem, or the croppie.
Last prang, Aztec a couple of years ago? Made it to abt 150’ on the downwind turn, but got a couple of miles further out before it fell into the scrub. The ‘pilot’ survived that one.
And 5 Yrs ago another Aztec, proved the adage that the second engine takes you to the scene of the accident.
Turned without the speed and went in , just like yesterday. Kaboom.. family of 4.
Its a bugger.

[Squawk7700]

I don’t fly a lot GA but i see many pilots turning 100/200/300 (tel:100/200/300) ft after departure.

Is it not 500ft and why so many turn when they please?

They changed it to 700ft some years back but I can’t recall it changing back again, but was told it did (turning cross-wind that is).

[Look Mum - no hands]

CAR 166A:
​​​​​​ (f) subject to subregulation (4), if the pilot takes off from the aerodrome, the pilot must maintain the same track from the take‑off until the aircraft is 500 feet above the terrain;

No mention of 100', 200', or 700'. (Subregulation (4) is an exception if a turn is necessary to avoid terrain.)

Nothing to do with the accident at the centre of this thread though - just clarifying the current legal (normal ops) standard.....

[Office Update]

Aroa:

I trust you have made detailed written notes of the events. As the lead post you are very definitely going to be interviewed by Police and ATSB and you will get your day in Court with the Coroner, there is no escaping that!
Having been a lead witness in a previous fatal; trust me it's not a pleasant experience. Facts only and don't use words like 'maybe', 'approximately', 'possibly', or 'I think' etc etc as this will lead to protracted examination and cross examining, all adding up to stress..
You appear to be a "key" witness.

Fly safe!

[Flying Mechanic]

RIP SCOTTY. Met him up the Torres Straits in 1999 , always good to have a beer with and hear his stories. He had a great career, and also gave many a young pilot there first gig. Will raise a cold Sapporo to you tonight.

[tail wheel]

ABC: Pilot William Scott-Bloxam killed in Mareeba crash remembered as a 'colourful character'. (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-15/pilot-william-scott-bloxam-remembered-after-mareeba-plane-crash/11801342?fbclid=IwAR0SgN4loGtfjqB8BAsDpH8LUVt9sYkIBtT4sb4S1U elhtwgLrDyDXLvHos)

[aroa]

OU... Thanks. I diected ATSB to my initial post and an ATSB guy turned up this a.m. for a few recorded questions.
What I didnt know before was that the take off I saw was the second.! At the other end of the strip there were a few people who saw and heard that all was not well with the engines, before and after the first short flight. !
The aircraft was telling them something...but they werent listening.

[Desert Flower]

ABC: Pilot William Scott-Bloxam killed in Mareeba crash remembered as a 'colourful character'. (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-15/pilot-william-scott-bloxam-remembered-after-mareeba-plane-crash/11801342?fbclid=IwAR0SgN4loGtfjqB8BAsDpH8LUVt9sYkIBtT4sb4S1U elhtwgLrDyDXLvHos)

I found this bit interesting: "Police said they would investigate reports from witnesses who heard a strange sound from the engine, described by one person as "backfiring".

Having heard a few simulated EFATO's myself that is exactly what people on the ground will hear. It's usually a double bang, & it does sounds like backfiring. But as for hearing a strange noise after the flight, I have no explanation.

DF.

[aroa]

When the aircraft turned away from me, ...it was then a glider.
And all glider pilots had banged into their noggins when learning, ...when slow, stuff the nose down BEFORE you make the turn.
Maybe what I saw wasnt a turn at all. The right wing lost it....and it was all downhill from there. Vale ! them 2
And there was space ahead for a crash landing.

[Petropavlovsk]

Angel Aircraft Corp, model 44.
A stunning success! aircraft serial numbers: 1 - 3 factory test aircraft.
Serial number 4 and the only one ever sold! now destroyed!

[PoppaJo]

Ozrunways has a camera right in the location it went down, it would probably have the whole circuit on camera. Hopefully they record the footage somewhere



https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1125x638/fbf4bd3b_d36f_432a_a96a_ee7e79bedad4_89f42678cba260cd4d3764c 4802a0e2febf54b02.jpeg

[Squawk7700]

They aren’t stored by the EFB’s. You’d have to get hold of Skycam and they are only stills, so no video.

[aroa]

Bit of a suposition mark on that frame.! I could modify that if I knew how. Certainly didnt do a climbing turn to that height.
Bring everything down to the top of the V and move it back down the runway some 200 mtrs... to the east.
.Thus take off and turn out of that frame anyhow.

[The Bullwinkle]

RIP SCOTTY. Met him up the Torres Straits in 1999 , always good to have a beer with and hear his stories. He had a great career, and also gave many a young pilot there first gig. Will raise a cold Sapporo to you tonight.

+1
RIP Scotty.

[Duck Pilot]

I also met Scotty a few years ago on Horn Island, absolute true gentleman and a great bloke. My heart goes out to the families and friends close to Scotty and the other pilot who was with him.

The other pilot who was with Scotty was also a very experienced pilot.

Hopefully the ATSB investigation will reveal exactly what happened in order for all of us to learn from this tragic event.

RIP comrades and I will certainly raise a few XXXX’s tonight in memory of you both.

[PoppaJo]

Prelim report not giving much away. Going off eyewitness reports.

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2019/aair/ao-2019-072/

I find this a bit strange. 28 Takeoff and going towards the training area, is a upwind departure with a left turn toward the training area a few miles after takeoff. Why conduct a low level right hand turn? I mean there is power lines on crosswind. I don't really see any real need for a field departure off the crosswind circuit with a abundance of hazards vs a straight out departure with little in the way off hazards (well no tall power towers anyway). It appears they did this again on the touch and go fatal circuit. A low level right hand turn will line you up with that road where they ended up, if under twin power.

How often is 28 used? Every time I pass overhead inbound to Cairns on a heavy, it is always 10. Which is why we listen in as the steps are fairly close.

Once airborne, the pilot broadcast that they were ‘making a low-level right-hand turn and then climbing up to not above 4,500 [feet] for the south-west training area.’

[aroa]

All very interesting, But who was flying the aeroplane and who was attending to "the problem/s" which it obviously had.
One or the other or both ... not payng attention to the airspeed.. and the rest is very sad history..
That two very experience twin pilots could do arrive at such a bum result to it all confounds me..
Still on the runway after 16oo ft behind and only 200yds left, why not chop the power and jump on the brakes.
So the arrestor barrier of a fence before the road bangs up the aircraft,,, so what.?
Can replace an aircraft with another (better) one, but not people.

[aroa]

PoJo...the prevailing winds are thru the NE to SE-S quadrant...so runway 10 has the most usage,
Occasionaly in winter there may be the odd day of SW from a southern cold front push.
During the Wet season winds SW thru N..so you can use either way with N. With storms about like as now wind could be any old which way
28 got some use today,