C172 down near Camden - one fatality
 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/fl...0-9387e5c96888

appears to have happened downwind in the circuit

Reports of first Solo, however just speculation. Absolute tragedy, RIP.

It would appear it has occurred just prior to the base turn. Looking at the FR24 data, doesn’t appear to have stalled. Looks like getting configured for the base turn, you can see the speed pull back from 90-80 knots. Still maintaining a relatively normal downwind heading. Appears like a spiral dive or somewhat?

It was Altocap's C172S VH-CPQ - no other details.

ATC can be heard on LiveATC - YSCN archive at 04:10 UTC.

ATC indicated it was a first solo to the pilot who located the accident site.

Technically it was the young fella's first solo in VH aircraft. He had over 40 hours as I recall it in RA aircraft and was cleared solo in them. He had come to CN today for his check and solo clearance from Altocap.
I'm a bit shook up myself coz we were chatting in the crew room just prior to our both heading off to go flying. Then I get back and hear this...so sad.

Seems a bit odd it was up to other circuit traffic to spot a missing (GA) first solo. I'd assume the students instructor would've been watching with a hawks eye?

The instructor would be on the ground. An eye in the sky would be far more useful.

Relying an airspeed to indicate a stall is a major flaw. A tight turn and unbalanced flight can also result in an unrecoverable stall - regardless of a Groundspeed indication.

If this was his first solo as reported then clearly he was not ready to be sent solo. After all he did not even get around the circuit let alone attempt a landing. I also have concerns that he attempted it in a C172 and not something a bit lighter such as a C150 given he came from RAaus . Sixteen is very young to be rushed through to GA. I think the flying school snd the instructor who cleared him will have a bit of explaining to do and rightfully so. Unfortunately for them but our thoughts should be with the family who put their trust in that school.

Incredibly sad.
I logged lots of happy hours in that aircraft back in the day.

The engine is still warm, we have no idea what happened yet!

We have no idea what happened, for all we know there could have been structural failure. Blaming anyone at this point is just silly.

As for being rushed through to GA, 10s of thousands of pilots have gone solo in Cessna 172 types, many 1000s being teenagers with far less hours than what is reported in this scenario.

At about the same age I did my first flight in a 172, with similar experience, after an hour with an instructor I flew at max weight with 3 mates around the training area.

Whatever happened it was a very rare event during a solo in what is a benign training aircraft type.

How absolutely heartbreaking for all involved. You can only imagine how George and the authorising instructor must feel today - never mind the student's family. I can't begin to imagine how crushing that would be.
So very very sad.

That's a bit rough I think.

If the reported 40H under RAAus are accurate, that implies he already held an RPC and (I'm speculating here) was upgrading to either an R or PPL - so he has likely already gone solo and presumably passed his RPC flight test. I feel for both the instructor and the pilots family, as parents we naturally want to keep our kids safe, but also not restrict them from broadening their horizons. Sadly, sometimes they don't come home from it.:(

Indeed. This one makes me think of the 19 year old who lost her life on a solo navex in a 172 west of Melbourne a few years back following an issue with the trim system. There were lots of learnings out of that one but it's still very sad and should be a reminder to all that it's very easy to blame the pilot in the absence of detailed information. :(

Many kids do their first solo in a 172, it's a perfectly suitable training aircraft. George at Altocap is a great guy and it's hard to imagine one of his planes could have had a mechanical failure that would have brought it down so quickly. Also hard to imagine someone with (allegedly) 40+ hours could manage to cock things up so badly. Medical episode? I'm really scratching my head on this. No matter the why or wherefore, it will be hard felt within the close knit flying community at Camden. Very tragic for all concerned.

Would be interesting to hear from someone around performance characteristics from transitioning RAus to a GA machine. Assuming they held a RPC, so likely only 0-10 hours in a VH machine.

I've flown, drifters, skyfox, lightwing and jabirus, they all have the same controls and if anything more vices than GA trainers. If you know how to fly, you know how to fly...

I did exactly that. I had 500 hours in Gazelle's / Eurofox and stepped into a 172. The nose attitude in the 172 is so much lower and they climb much slower, like a Mack truck compared to a sports car. Had I been left un-instructed, I may have got dangerously slow on my first takeoff climb!