Crash Landing in Cunnamulla - two hurt.
 

Two survive crash landing in Qld
From: AAP October 02, 2013 6:48AM

If that was at night, not just at sunset, to put it down with almost no injury, is an impressive result. I hope the lady who had minor injuries had more minor than the pilot.

Get well soon :ok:

Pair walk away from bush landing - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Well done, that man - and it sounds like he needs to buy a Lotto ticket. :eek:

If the stated time of 20:30Hrs is correct, then that definitely makes it a crash landing in the proper dark - as well as in timbered country.
By my quick estimation, sunset around Cunnamulla is roughly 18:05Hrs and the end of nautical twilight is around a couple of minutes before 19:00Hrs.

I would have thought landing was inevitable? :suspect:

See 'jaba' how much more convincing do ya want buddy!:E
Dangerous things those SE toy planes:-)

I bet this guy thinks twice about flying at night again SE. There's a 'sign' here I reckon:-)


Wmk2

Last Light YCMU Tues 1/10/13 - 0840Z.....

11km NW of Cunnamulla (town) would be almost (?) in the circuit area of YCMU....

EFATO..??

Good to have the 'minor injuries' in any case - especially on a dark night.

Geez, TW, you know there's nothing worse than being stuck up there all night! :)

Some coppers aren't exactly wordsmiths, when it comes to facing media questions. :rolleyes:

He could have said (accompanied by a suitable sombre manner), "It was brought to our attention that a suspected attempted landing was being carried out in the dark. We investigated and found two individuals loitering in the area with a suspicious damaged aircraft in the vicinity. These two individuals appear to be suffering some kind of personal injuries. Further investigation is needed to clarify precisely what has occurred here. You can be assured, QLD Police have this matter firmly in hand, and no member of the public needs to become alarmed ... " :)

Absolutely! There is no such thing as a forced landing. All aircraft will land eventually - one way or another! ;)

DF.

Jabba - SE IFR / NVFR ops.... Be alert but not alarmed :ok:

Unlike Wally, I don't have a major problem with SE night operations when necessary, but within reason and reasonably close to civilisation and available landing areas.

I would not include Cunnamulla as being "reasonably close to civilisation and available landing areas."

Talking of PC Plod's linguistic tallents - and I know this is thread drift - but at 8.45 am Tuesday 24 September, on the Landsborough Highway between Longreach and Winton, Sgt Plodd from Winton had cause to pull me over just as I passed a B Double with trailer (three trailer Road Train):

"Do you know what speed you were doing driver"?

"No idea, wasn't looking, but I'm sure you will tell me".

"134 kilometers per hour."

"I knew you were waiting for me so came as quick as I could."

On being presented with a yellow Infringement Notice for $366 and 4 points, I asked whether I'd get a discount because of my Senior's Card?

Actually, $366 is more than reasonable for four years of undetected crime! :}

There is something highly comical about a harmless grey nomad being pulled over on the Landsborough Highway, miles from civilisation, to be confronted by Sgt Plod in full riot gear, pistol, Tazer, Pepper Spray, batton, three pistol magazines, handcuffs, two way radio and a few other odds and ends, all attached to a flack jacket. I couldn't help myself:

"Have the grey nomads been parking illegally again or did I interupt your deployment to the front line in Afghanistan"?

Fortunately he had a sense of humour.

And if you drive out west, avoid Adavale as that cops books everything not screwed down. Local rumour tells me he even booked his own wife for driving without a seat belt.

Yep, country coppers can be something else......... :}

Unfortunately, ever since a scumbag double murderer on the run from the Eastern States tried to kill a W.A. copper on the N.W. Coastal Hwy after a regular traffic stop a few short years ago - and ended up receiving a fatal dose of Glock-guided lead - the country coppers have been a little more nervous about exactly WHO they are pulling up - and they tend to practise American-trooper-style tactics for traffic stops, nowadays. :(

In fact, it's SOP to have two officers in every car on lonely country patrols in W.A. now, such is their concern about the violent hoods that tend to flit across the country when they have an urgent need to "be elsewhere". :(

Fugitive's cross-country dash ends in death - National - theage.com.au

The World Today - Vic Police under fire over suspect alert

'taily' it's all about choice, I now chose not to fly SE especially at night or in IMC (same thing really). My life to me ( & to my ex...bitch!) is far more important than some misguided feeling I might randomly have of believing flying in a SE under the above conditions is safe/fun!:E

'Jaba' is a good Eg & I actually like the guy mainly 'cause he's smart in other area's!:E


Wmk2

p.s....btw 'taily' you might want to be careful of yr postings here (even if they are amusing to read) as they are off topic (as you mention actually) but you already know that as yr partner in crime 'Tid' is out to get those that do so & break all sorts of awful sinful laws of fun on PPrune:E...see the other thread about QF's little adventure over the GAB:-):E

Onetrack, even in Texas where 80% of vehicles carry a loaded gun, the cops operate alone in their "cruisers" with only a pistol and handcuffs. None of the other paraphenalia.

Wally, you have peace at last. I am banning myself for seven days for thread drift! :hmm:

..........Jesus 'taily' don't start that sort of thing will ya we poor mortal PPruner's will think you guys are human after all!:E:E

I'll await outside yr place of self incarceration with a repentant Choir singing...... 'all is 4given'.........:E:ok::-):-)


Wmk2

Hmmm... with all them islamic nutter gangs roaming Oz i reckon if them traffic police want to dress like judge dredd, let em..:ok:

From 2010, USA...

"...traffic-related incidents remained the number one cause of death among the nation's law enforcement officers for the 13th consecutive year. Seventy-three officers have been killed in traffic-related incidents this year, compared with 51 in 2009... ...During the past year, 18 officers were killed in Texas, the highest in any state..."

Line-of-duty deaths among police officers go up - CNN.com










.

Taily me old.. you are a bit behind the times when it comes to the Constabulary (is that a word?) west of the FIFO capital.
I shall attempt to bring you up to speed :E
"The Adavale Copper" of which you speak, was relocated to Wyandra several years ago after some angst. Chris, his replacement at Adavale is one of the nicest blokes you will ever meet, (however you would not want to get on the wrong side of him as he has several amateur boxing titles to his name).
Never the less, the infamous old Adavale copper, (who is now in Wyandra) is still referred to as "The Adavale Copper". Got it?.
I personally find him no trouble at all, and quite pleasant and helpful. Others, who do dodgy ****e (like speed dangerously past triple road trains in Jaguars) however, have run foul of the man on occasion and contributed to his notoriety (including his wife I believe).

I can relate a story regarding "The Adavale Copper" that I find amusing.
A good mate flew for the RFDS here for many years, and eventually got transferred to the Cairns base. Not long after he got posted to Cairns, he was called out to a motorcycle accident up the Cape, where a rider had gone for a trip over the handlebars and hurt himself. Upon landing at the retrieval point, my mate was giving the flight nurse a hand by collecting the patients particulars. The conversation went like this:
My mate: "what's your home address?"
patient: "you won't know where it is! It's one of the smallest towns in Australia with a population of just 6, called Adavale".
My mate: " yeah I know where it is all right.. I must have caught a thousand yellow belly fish in the Blackwater Creek over the years. They reckon that there is a C**t of a copper there now though."
Patient: (looking thoroughly delighted) "That would be me!"

Back to the Cunnamulla incident. It's probably one of the best places to be if you are are going to have an engine failure at night ( in either single or twin). The country is very open and flat. Great to see that everyone walked away. I try and keep out of the NVFR debate with the pontificating experts on here. I have nearly 400 hours of NVFR in a single mostly in arguably the blackest of black hole country, and I ain't dead yet. I try to avoid flying at night if I can, same as I avoid driving at night if I can, as the risks are greater. I keep myself and the aircraft current, and it's seems to work out OK.

Amen! :ok:

That's not thread drift! I kin show you some thread drift- hey Beachie, how did the enduro go? Was heading out to it when a local offered me access to his property north of CV so went there and killed stuff instead. Trust you enjoyed the TL trip too?

Back to SE prang at CMU - then a SE aircraft went and picked them up in the middle of the night to take them to the big smoke hospital!

Cop that Wally :E

We both know 'jaba' that the RFDS are not too bright up that way flying PC's but hey when yr all busted up from a SE prang then I guess not much else matters & yr luck is on a high, besides I think lying there on that stretcher saying hey I don't wanna go to hossy in a SE plane as I have just crashed one would be called as the ultimate ironical comment!:E



Wmk2

Hi Beachie

Was going to drop into the apothecary the other day but ran short of time.

I would have thought you'd be rather unlucky to hit a patch of "rugged bushland" around Cunnamulla, especially now in the drought.

Apparently the Adavale Copper booked Peter Beattie's wife many years ago and found himself posted to Adavale. The Mayor at Quilpie assures me it is fact that he booked his own wife for driving without a seat belt.

I am sure matrimonial bliss would have been put on hold after booking your own wife. Hope the dog did not mind the company.:E

Tailwheel:

My son is a policeman and that is exactly what he wears at times. However it isn't funny anymore. There is a class of drugs - Methamphetamines that make people do real bad stuff, out of your mind stuff, and the police have no idea from one minute to the next what someone they engage will actually do.

....And that includes seemingly harmless grey nomads.

There are a variety of things they are trained to do and number one is self preservation. Don't ever do something that might scare a policeman or you will end up very dead. All that pepper spray, Tazer and shooting to wound stuff is only going to happen if the policeman thinks he or she has time to do that stuff without compromising their own safety.

As a bloke with 4 cops in my wifes family (from Supt FIL, through to Sen./Sgt BIL, Detective and Snr/Const. Nephews), I can back up what Sunfish says.

I have even witnessed a bloke high on Meths climbing the 2.5M high wire mesh fence of my workshop yard, with 3 sizeable coppers hanging off him, spraying him with pepper spray and belting him with truncheons - all without the slightest effect.

When he was finally subdued by 5 coppers and eventually came around in a hospital bed, he had no knowledge of anything he's done in the previous two days - which was a rampage of violence and robberies that occupied quite a number of coppers, and traumatised a lot of people.
Meths is bad stuff - along with a number of newer drugs that give people superhuman strength - and all these drugs give people a massive spurt that keeps them high, and going without sleep for 2 or 3 days, or sometimes even more.

I've pulled a semi-comatose bloke out of a car after he ran into a parked car - and he'd taken LSD and gone for a drive!! :rolleyes: He wasn't capable of stringing two words together, and how he managed to even drive, is beyond me.

Then there's always that small group of people who are consumed with a total murderous hatred of anyone in a blue uniform, and who will carry a firearm with the sole intention of killing anyone in blue who pulls them up.
There's quite a list of "fallen police" who have met their fate at the hands of these people without any warning whatsoever.

The final angle is, that pulling up a car that has indulged in obvious traffic offences is very often an indicator that a criminal is behind the wheel.
On regular occasions, traffic stops for minor offences result in drugs & firearms being found, persons wanted on bench warrants, unregistered drivers, or drivers high on drugs, or just plain drunk.

A policemans lot is not a happy one, and the last job I'd want, is wearing a blue uniform and approaching complete strangers inside their mobile cage of protective steel, without the slightest idea of their mental state. :(


Wally - I've often wondered what it does to your shattered nerves, to be hauled, injured, out of a SE aircraft wreckage - only to be placed into another SE aircraft, to go for another ride!! :) I trust they give you a good dose of sedatives!! :)

I hope they give them to the pilot too, poor blokes (ettes)! ;)

No different to being hauled, injured, from a car crash & being put into an ambulance!

DF.

Two comments

If your aircraft has a certain endurance, shouldn't you plan to land at least 45 mins before said endurance.

If you are going to fly NVFR, shouldn't your aircraft be in NVFR category as well?

Just asking, and no inference is made.......however the accident report will be interesting. Just some talk going around.

Won't buy into the night single engine debate .. . . it has been covered and covered a thousand times. You either chance it or you don't. Whenever it made me feel nervous I'd take a deep breath and think of Lindbergh's 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight. (The Wright J5 . . . what a donk.)

Cops transferred to the outback . . well one of the best was the one about the late Russ Hinze, Queensland police minister, who was pulled over by a cycle cop when driving home down the Gold Coast Highway one day. Cop had no idea who the man was heaving his huge bulk out of the Fairlane. Hinze gets out with the Queensland map in his paw. He spreads the map over the bonnet and gestures north - south down the guts of Queensland. "There you are son. You pick. Anywhere west of that line."

When Frank Delaney was the NSW police commissioner he was heading home down Anzac Parade one evening when a sprog motorcycle cop pulled him over.
Cop gets off bike, walks back, slowly and deliberately pulling off his gauntlets.
Puts his head down to the driver's window and says -

"So where's the f u c k in g fire driver?"

Delaney equally slowly and deliberately pulls out his wallet and shows the cop his ID -

"I'd say in my office, constable . . . . nine o'clock on monday morning."


There's another choice one about the cop out near Yarrawonga recently who chased a newly imported Chevvy convertible with LH drive. Too long to tell now, but if you know Muzza at Echuca, (Stearman etc) , he'll tell you.

And all those stories are manifestations of the fact that governments across Australia have been rotten to the core for a long time. :ok:

well there's no arguing that there are, shining their bums, and have been, some pretty piss poor people voted into parliament . . . . .but for all the doom and gloom. . . let us remember the shining lights who all their lives put the best interests of the nation before their own.

Taking off is optional, Landing is mandatory ... :E

I flew that aircraft a few years back. It was fitted with the standard gear for that model which I believe includes NVFR when it left the factory. The only thing it would potentially be missing would be a VOR which would have hardly contributed to engine failure.

G'day Jamair! It was great to make your acquaintance the other day, and I hope you enjoyed your time out here. Enduro went great. There were many tired riders after 3 hours on a very gnarly track.
TL was very dry (and hot), and the ATC were very friendly and helpful (even dispatched a "follow me" car to show me a good place to tie down!). Apart from weaving around a line of storms on the way home, the trip was great. Caught me 2 brilliant parrot fish at Magnetic Is. :ok:

So, now we have the hint of a suggestion of maybe a little too much air in the tanks.....?? Guptar?

Sharks and Pilots....
 

What's wrong with you idiots?
Why say this stuff with not even a shred of reason or evidence?

According to the pilot there was 2 hrs fuel on board when the engine stopped.

Because that's what most if not all of us think as the likely cause in cases like this - even if we don't say it out loud!

DF.

Beachie......didn't the FTDK offer you some hanger space?

Not like he gets much use of it any more :E

Tried to give the Forked one a ring to maybe catch up for a beer.. however he must have changed his number, as I got a seductive sounding young lady who thought I was a bit forward in mentioning her fork :ooh:

Have a close friend that's returned to the thin blue line while he waits to find a use for his CPL.

Apparently the jobs have some similarities. Risk management, team work, legal interpretation and making command decisions are some of them.

Report (if you can call it that) is out.

Can someone remind me how many hours it takes to fly from Lilydale to Cunnamulla in a PA-28?
I'm going with 3 as the 'pilot' says there was 2 hours remaining onboard at the time of incident................:confused:

Unless the AC had new long ranges tanks fitted few mins before departure?