Another light aircraft crash, S.E. of Darwin - 12/01/2025 - 1 dead

[facthunter]

Cheaper houses AWAY from the Humdrum of the City  More relaxed, But the traffic is getting bad there and it's TOO Humid in the wet and I hate crocodiles I used to sail Cats on Fanny bay but wouldn't do it now.. Went to Mica Beach in the 60's on an  amphibious war Tank with a freeboard of about 5 inches at night with no lives lost. Where else could you do that? Mind you it WAS a bit Clandestine.. (not widely advertised  OR legal).    Nev

[facthunter]

When these planes were first let fly you couldn't operate the above 300 Feet was it? I first flew a THRUSTer at Mangalore  (My first  U/L).at an airshow 1985.. No place to stuff up a Circuit and landing with a big audience. which I actually didn't even think about.. Slight difference to the Plane I was flying at work.. (B 727)   Nev

[skippydiesel]

2 hours ago, FlyBoy1960 said:

Also, the footage whilst it looks fantastic is a lot lower than what is allowed by law. The footage we are watching is actually really close to the ground and he is not in the process of taking off or landing. As the RA-Aus rep for NT he should know better.

"Do as I say - Not as I do"

 

Aside from that - Publishing your law breaking seems to go hand in hand with the behaviour. Had a similar aircraft crash & fatality at The Oaks, a few years back - his naughty videos were all over the net. I believe CFI had words with him on several occasions.

[T510]

2 hours ago, FlyBoy1960 said:

Also, the footage whilst it looks fantastic is a lot lower than what is allowed by law. The footage we are watching is actually really close to the ground and he is not in the process of taking off or landing. As the RA-Aus rep for NT he should know better.

He may have held a Low Level Endorsement in which case he could have legally flown under 500ft AGL

 

https://raaus.com.au/learn-to-fly/endorsements/low-level/

[Kiwi]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

Flies better solo. No one screaming with fear.   and it performs better. Nev

I still hear the screaming when I'm solo... maybe I should unplug the headsets.

[facthunter]

Just remember to pull the  helmet visor down before you commence your take off run.   You have great view from the front seat.  Under 70Kg people need more weight under the seat.  I never had to worry about that one..  Highly recommend  that plane.  to anyone who hasn't flown one yet or if you are buying your first plane . and don't wish to spend a fortune. . Nev

Edited Tuesday at 06:45 AM by facthunter
expand

[onetrack]

Struts, tailplane, and fuselage all appear to be largely intact. Frontal damage appears to indicate a nose-dive straight into shallow water in the dam. The woman is lucky to have escaped unhurt.

Photo is courtesy of the NT News.

[facthunter]

All intact  Even the wheels.   Front immersed in the water??  Nev

Edited Tuesday at 06:51 AM by facthunter

[rankamateur]

On 13/01/2025 at 2:13 PM, turboplanner said:

That's pretty accurate!

Could be GA.

[facthunter]

Maybe the front is damaged I can't tell but not much else is.  Being upside down in the water is NOT a place to be especially IF it's shallow and muddy.  Nev

[Litespeed]

Damn, a sad outcome for pilot and loss of a truly great fun aircraft.

 

I would love to have a Drifter, be perfect cruising Port Stephens on floats.

 

I hope they work out the cause.

 

Hopefully the passenger can help fill in the details.

 

Speaking of Drifters, has anyone heard from Farri and his drifter antics from FNQ?

[turboplanner]

Could be a heart atack.

[facthunter]

I don't know how you run a business with it if it wasn't under GA. RAAus are silly about a low flying endorsement. They restrict it to cattle mustering and I've had WORDS with them about that restriction but it was talking to a brick wall. Denying people necessary skills is close to criminal negligence and I was authorised to do it in GA signed off in my logbook. .  Nev

[facthunter]

I guess that will considered turbs It's normal to do a post mortem., Lee Ungerman went to so many of those when he ran RAAus. An unpleasant task.

[Litespeed]

So they let cattle scaring which is very high risk but not "sensible" low level stuff?

 

Sounds typical.

[turboplanner]

1 hour ago, rankamateur said:

Could be GA.

Numbers under the wing.

[Thruster88]

Aircraft is in the raaus accident database. A forced landing into those water lily's would result in inversion every time. Drag on the undercarriage, sharp nose goes in, momentum flips the aircraft. Rear seat has protection from structure and the wing, would make getting out more likely. 

[onetrack]

The aircrafts registration was 55-1903. Photo courtesy of Ken Hodge on Flickr.

 

Accident Austflight Drifter SB582 55-1903, Sunday 12 January 2025

ASN.FLIGHTSAFETY.ORG

---

An Austflight Driter SB582 crashed into the waters near Fogg Dam, south east of Darwin. <br />The pilot perished and the passenger was injured and the ultralight was written off.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:53 AM by onetrack

[rankamateur]

1 hour ago, turboplanner said:

Numbers under the wing.

I was thinking of Wayne Fisher with the VH under the wing. It did stuff we are discouraged from doing under RAA. Numbers were a bit hard to read under muddy water. Little more obvious in the later posted photo.

Edited Tuesday at 09:26 AM by rankamateur

[Blueadventures]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

I guess that will considered turbs It's normal to do a post mortem., Lee Ungerman went to so many of those when he ran RAAus. An unpleasant task.

Don’t understand why Lee U would be attending any actual post mortem examination.  Provide opinion on injury, marks and the report should be enough.

[Blueadventures]

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

Just remember to pull the  helmet visor down before you commence your take off run.   You have great view from the front seat.  Under 70Kg people need more weight under the seat.  I never had to worry about that one..  Highly recommend  that plane.  to anyone who hasn't flown one yet or if you are buying your first plane . and don't wish to spend a fortune. . Nev

Solo; meets the home sick angle description.  On tarmac for takeoff you need the right amount of rudder in early or else you will be over to the right and on the grass in no time.

[FlyBoy1960]

15 hours ago, T510 said:

He may have held a Low Level Endorsement in which case he could have legally flown under 500ft AGL

 

https://raaus.com.au/learn-to-fly/endorsements/low-level/

He may have held a low-level endorsement but, you can't use that endorsement for just flying around like depicted in the video.

The low-level endorsement is for very specific tasks ONLY like checking on your own stock on a cattle property etc.   It is not for joy flights scaring the pretty young thing in the backseat. If you look at the photograph you can see they have blurred out the pilots body, and she is standing on top of the aircraft. Imagine her fear knowing that the life of the pilot has been extinguished and every noise or rustle she hears in the swamp could be a crocodile coming to get her.   

 

She has, without any choice or actions of her own, had to endure stress's that many people could not handle. My heart goes out to the pilot and his family, but it also goes out to this young lady who is obviously going to be suffering with this trauma for a very considerable time and I hope gets assistance that she needs or requires.

[facthunter]

I found it easy to keep straight compared to many others but also started on tailwheels. It's also easier to land than a Thruster but the view is incomparable . U/c a bit weak for a school plane.

 There are plenty Of Trikes doing passenger work  Parachuting is far from risk free. Rock climbing motorcycle riding being in shark infested waters. Flying over r emote mountainous& timbered or water. 

 Legally as I understand it, the only way you can earn money with RAAus  flying,  is when instructing. Nev

[onetrack]

Another ABC News article below contains a video of the crashed Drifter being lifted out of Fogg Dam by a helicopter and a photo of the wreckage, upright on a tilt-tray truck.

The photo of the wreckage doesn't give fine detail, but it appears the prop is largely undamaged, leading one to infer that the engine wasn't delivering power when it impacted the dam.

 

Tributes for pilot Mark Christie killed in ultralight plane crash near Darwin - ABC News

WWW.ABC.NET.AU

---

A 63-year-old pilot who died in an ultralight plane crash near Darwin has been remembered as "a great father" with a love of adventure and learning.

 

[facthunter]

The U/C is undamaged also. Birds are common in such places.  Nev