Guest Vigilant Posted October 5, 2006 Posted October 5, 2006 Crashed jet may have broken up in flight By Katherine Danks and Vincent Morello October 05, 2006 07:43pm Article from: AAP AN ex-military jet that crashed in central New South Wales today killing two men on a joyflight may have broken up in midair. The pair were flying from Bathurst in a Strikemaster aerobatics aircraft which went down in the Winburndale Nature Reserve in the Turon State Forest today. The exact time of the crash is unclear but Canberra-based Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) requested NRMA CareFlight send a helicopter to look for the missing aircraft about 3pm (AEST). Former miliary jets are usually equipped with ejector seats, but it's not clear whether this aircraft had them. NRMA CareFlight senior pilot Ken Vote, who first spotted the wreckage, said the tail of the aircraft was some distance from its fuselage. "I would suspect that it's suffered some sort of in-flight break-up," he said. "It's hard to imagine that this piece has hit the ground with the rest of it and bounced a half a mile through the trees. "It was certainly confirmed in my mind, even when I first arrived, that there would be no survivors." He said the crash ignited a bushfire that spread over four ha. "The search in fact was quite easy because about 15 miles (24km) out I saw an isolated bushfire and suspected that this may have been started by an aircraft accident," Mr Vote said. Two fire fighting aircraft arrived on the scene in response to reports of a bushfire, but were unaware what had caused it, Mr Vote said. An NRMA CareFlight paramedic winched down to the main crash site about 5pm (AEST) confirmed that both men were dead. NSW Police say it will take some time to reach the site by land because of the remote, difficult terrain.
Guest Guest Posted October 13, 2006 Posted October 13, 2006 Tragic accident, Nick Costin was a great pilot of what I have heard around the traps, doing many hours of Joyflights and at airshows etc. Rest In Peace Regards Sam bateo
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now