Light aircraft missing in the outback of S.A.
 

Light aircraft with two people on board missing in outback South Australia, was expected to land at Marree - 9news.com.au

I was listening to Melbourne Centre getting one of the big jets to try to contact this aircraft on several different frequencies just before midnight last night. Hope it ends well. I know the aircraft type & rego, but not going to post it here.

DF.

not good news, i know of a few people out that way on sightseeing tours of the flooded lake.. any news on type?

Ultralights, will pm you.

DF.

News are reporting the aircraft type as an Ultalight Tecnam Eaglet.

fingers crossed they are waiting on a dirt road somewhere.

Yes it is a Tecnam.

DF.

I'm wondering if they decided to push on to William Creek - wouldn't be the first time that has happened. Have been trying to ring the pub & Trev but no-one's answering.

DF.

Maybe Trev is not answering the phone because he is out refuelling planes and choppers for the search, or he and his crew are out looking also?

Yes - I did think of that. Pub should still answer though, although not sure what time they open.

DF.

Just got onto the pub at willy creek & aircraft isn't there. Wrightsair planes are out helping in the search.
I am going to swing by the Leigh Creek airport shortly just to check & see if it's there.

DF.

SAPOL TWEET

A light plane, with two men on board, reported missing in SA's far north has been found. Men have been rescued and on way to #Marree. MTF

fantastic news. now, to recover the aircraft..

DF...do you know where the Tecnam is based, please?

Kaz

Maitland SA

Thank you MC

Kaz

ABC news reports that both POB have been found safe and well.

I do wonder why a PLB was not activated. Activation would have resulted in an almost-immediate and more focussed (and therefore less expensive and more effective) search effort.

If the PIC was not carrying a registered 406 MHz GPS PLB, or was carrying one but did not know how to switch it on, or decided that it was not appropriate to switch it on, I do question the PIC's judgment. However, those "if's" are mere speculation and I do not have all the facts.

If the aircraft was not carrying an ELT or PLB then the pilot will be in contravention of the CAO 95.55 exemption.

3.2 Except in the case of a flight that is to take place wholly within a radius of 50 miles from its departure point, a 2-place aeroplane to which this Order applies may be flown only if it carries:
(a) an approved ELT, or an approved portable ELT, as defined in regulation 252A of CAR 1988; or
(b) a personal locator beacon that has been approved by CASA for use with such an aeroplane.
Note Regulation 252A of CAR 1988 does not apply to single-seat aircraft (see subregulation 252A (7) of CAR 198

That can open a whole new can of worms.

Kaz

From ABC

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-0...e-safe/7071298

Does mention an ELT
Regards R W

A passenger rescued from a light plane which crash landed near Lake Eyre in the remote South Australian outback says he feels lucky to be safe and well.

Ben Francis and pilot Darryl Koch were returning from a scenic flight over the lake when engine failure forced the sudden landing.

Mr Francis said there was no time to make a decision and they needed to ditch the plane.

Not knowing whether anyone knew we were out there was probably our biggest concern.
Ben Francis
"All it was, was getting the plane on the ground in a safe formation and to his credit, Darryl did that," he said.

"That was the biggest thing I think, the fact that we were both not injured and yeah, able-bodied."

Mr Francis said it was a slightly bumpy landing but they were both safe.

"[It was] just on a stony rise ... it was a little bit soft after the recent rains up here so it pulled up pretty quick," he said.

"We jumped out because we thought we might have had a fire and thankfully we didn't.

"Then after that we went through the process of getting the ELT [emergency locator transmitter] to work, so they could find our location and went about making ourselves comfortable basically for the night ahead."

Plane wreckage near Marree
PHOTO: Mr Francis said the pair had a bumpy landing. (ABC News)
The duo spent the night sleeping on their plane seats, in between scanning channel frequencies.

"Not knowing whether anyone knew we were out there was probably our biggest concern and also thinking about our loved ones back home," Mr Francis said.

"Obviously there were going to know that we were out there somewhere and yeah, that was our main concerns.

Lake Eyre rescue, police and publican
PHOTO: Marree's only police officer Tom Christley and Rebecca Turner from the Marree Hotel both helped with the search. (ABC News: Tom Fedorowytsch)
"All night it was quite warm so we didn't have any exposure dramas or anything."

As dawn broke Mr Francis said they heard some aircraft activity in the area and knew a search was underway.

"We just kept scanning the channels for local frequency, every now and then we'd just switch it on and make a call," he said.

The pair set fire to a tyre and the smoke was spotted by local tourism pilot Trevor Wright, who made radio contact with the helicopter that picked the men up.

"Darryl was actually walking back from going to get some water ... so he was happy to hear the news when he got back too," Mr Francis said.

He said given the circumstances, they were lucky to be uninjured and safe.

"[There was] relief that we're all safe and well and our families all know that we're well," he said.

Emergency highlights need for better mobile coverage

Tourists have been flocking to Lake Eyre to see the usually dry salt pan filling with water.

Mr Wright said the emergency highlighted the need for better mobile coverage in outback areas, and wants government to help with improvements.

Lake Eyre filling with water January 2, 2016
PHOTO: Downpours in South Australia's outback in recent days have led to Lake Eyre filling. Photo taken January 2, 2016. (Supplied: Trevor Wright)
"We've had four search and rescues in four weeks. Two of them were [for people from] overseas, two were Australian. The longest one went for 30 hours," he said.

"Had we had mobile phone coverage or towers with data, the chances are with the communications, we would have picked up a lot of them quicker and made the exposure to risk a lot less."

But Mr Wright praised the efforts of the pair, saying they had done everything by the book.

"They did a great job. When you have a catastrophic engine failure at 2,000 feet you don't have a lot of time to think about things," he said.

"They went through their checks, they landed in an area that was safe."

Rebecca Turner from the Marree Hotel said while the region was remote, people would be safe if they came prepared, which the duo had done.

"We always encourage people to travel with lots of water, make sure that they've got appropriate communications, there's lots of different devices you can use to track where you are," she said.

"[We're] always relieved when we know people are safe and well and it's the best outcome for everyone concerned."

If an ELT or PLB was activated, it didn't work well (if at all). Even an old 121.5 model would have been heard by aircraft in the general vicinity, if it had been working properly.

I will be very interested to find out the make/model/age/means of fitment/carriage of the beacon to which the story refers.

Haha - typical Trev to push his agenda on getting more mobile phone coverage in that area. I keep telling him that's why satphones were invented! And if they'd had their radio on just before & after midnight they would have heard a China Southern aircraft trying to call them on several different frequencies. He tried 121.2; 121.5; 126.7 & 127.8.

DF.

Well i have a GME EPIRB (PLB) and had reason to turn it on just before Christmas in the US as well as manually turning on the built in US registered beacon.

Both were on for less than 1 minute before a successful landing where they were turned straight back off again.

I had Peter from CNB Search and Rescue calling me within 5 minutes to find out what was going on and who had deployed the beacon etc, they work in well under 1 minute anywhere in the world.

Don't ever go flying without one !

"Don't ever go flying without one !"


No argument there! But always ensure that you and your pax know how to use it.

Its part of my pre-flight briefing whenever i carry a passenger.... This is how you open the door, this is how you use the ballistic parachute, this is how you activate the PLB.....

China Southern.
 

Jesus wept. If, in trouble, anyone knew precisely when to turn the radio on, nobody would ever get lost! They were conserving..... Conserving, both battery and personal energy. Why would they have the radio on at midnight, 30k nth of Marree? The system worked. Even if they did hear China Southern, would either party have understood the other? Doesn't matter, two fine people came home to their families. The system worked!

They certainly would have - if I could understand them then so could they!

DF.

One gets the impression from the interviews on TV that this little jaunt was a spur of the moment deal and they did not think to tell anyone they were going or where. And did they carry an epirb and if they did have one how hard is it to activate it? Muppets comes to mind and maybe the young fella who said he now had second thoughts about aviation as a pastime has now had a light bulb moment more in line with his competence.

"Precisely when to turn the radio on"? We're talking aircraft up at F360 not A050 - they could easily be in range for 40 minutes. Have a look at Flightradar24 for how many high level aircraft would be in range - Marree-Oodnadatta would be a reasonable distance to expect comms within.

There's a good chance an ex-pat would be on board and even if not comprehension is generally good, particularly if you keep it simple and clear - conveying a latitude and longitude wouldn't pose a challenge.

I am reminded of the seven p's - proper preparation prevents possible piss poor performance! ;)


They obviously didn't activate it (as I think they claimed to) because otherwise the satellite would have picked it up pdq & AMSAR would have been notified. Plus the China Southern aircraft heard nothing either.
The Advertiser said it was "very clever" of them to light a tyre - anyone would think that they were the first ones to think of doing that. And to me being very clever means not getting yourself in such a predicament to start with!

DF.

Oh well, they are both still alive so that's surely the most important thing?


The aircraft recovery may prove to be quite a financial challenge, though.

It's great that they're both fine - that's the point of the search and rescue effort. But I question the PIC's judgment if - repeat '"if" - he did not carry and know how to use a 406MHzGPS PLB, especially on a flight in such a remote and inhospitable area.

(ozaggie: Those PLBs speak an international language that lots of people hear and respond to very quickly. Even if there aren't aircraft at altitudes on air routes in the general area who are likely to hear the 121.5 homing signal, the SAR satellites are always orbiting up there listening out on 406. That's why they are there. Having the latitude and longitude of the beacon helps to focus the search and facilitate assistance as soon as practicable. It helps a lot.)

For my part, if I have to do a forced landing, I'm switching on the aircraft's ELT, and activating the PLB on my hip, on the way down. I practice it. I've already briefed any pax on how to do both themselves, if I fail to, as well where the spare PLB is and how to activate it. It's possible that all those gizmos will be damaged during the forced landing, along with the POB. But even a few seconds of activation (and a rushed mayday on VHF/HF) may be enough to alert someone, and not many more seconds may be enough for the PLB to provide accurate position information to a satellite. It's the difference between immediate, focused attention, and a needle in a haystack search over thousands of square kilometres, hours later when it dawns (sunsets?) on someone that something may have gone wrong.

If my friends and I are in trouble, I'd prefer the former.

Let's wait and see if he is charged with reckless flying ...

I heard an interview of the passenger, on ABC radio, in which reference was made to the activation of an ELT. So I reiterate my first post:If an ELT was carried but didn't work properly, the malfunction is not the pilot's fault.

(For my part, I always assume that the ELT won't work. Hence the PLB on my hip and the spare in the seat pocket...)

News reported shortly after that the ELT failed to operate.

A good lesson there to regularly check your battery and to test your ELT operation regularly.

Who knows if that news was correct...