FLYER’s new Safety Editor shines a spotlight on how accidents can happen in a split second, or indeed, can be through a lack of preparation…
25 August 2022
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating an in-flight propeller loss involving Jabiru J120-C, registered 23-1531, that occurred at Devonport Airport, Tasmania, on 16 January 2022.
During flight training circuit operations, the student pilot reported that the propeller struck a seagull. The propeller detached from the aircraft and the instructor assumed control and conducted a forced landing onto the runway. There were no reported injuries.
Comment: A modern phrase that has appeared in aviation safety in recent times is ‘startle factor’ – the adverse effect that a sudden in-flight occurrence has on immediate and subsequent pilot actions. In this incident, the combined startle factors of a bird-strike followed by the propeller detaching from the aircraft could have led to major distractions from flying the aircraft. It looks like the instructor did a good job in doing the right thing and landing on the runway.
On 1 August 2016, at about 0830 Western Standard Time, a Cessna 172 aircraft, registered VH-WKB, departed from Cape Leveque ALA, Western Australia. The pilot (owner) and one passenger were on board the private flight.
Prior to departure, the pilot had checked the amount of fuel in the aircraft’s fuel tanks with a dipstick and estimated there was about 50 litres of fuel remaining. The pilot planned a one-hour coastal sightseeing flight to Broome, using a 5kt headwind component, at a fuel flow of 35 litres per hour.
About one hour and five minutes into the flight, the pilot heard the engine make a ‘bit of a cough’ and noticed the fuel gauges were indicating empty. The pilot identified a clear section of straight road ahead, broadcast a Mayday call and landed the aircraft on the Manari road, about 30km north of Broome airport. There were no injuries, and the aircraft was not damaged.
The pilot had not realised that shortly after departure, the headwind component had increased and the actual fuel consumption was greater than planned. This serious incident highlights how several factors, which on their own were not critical, combined on the day to result in a critical situation for the pilot.
Comment: GA aircraft fuel tank indications have been notoriously unreliable for decades. This incident implies that the pilot of this aircraft did not check the fuel indications until after over an hour of flight, when the engine coughed. Without fuel we are clearly in a very poor situation, so check fuel contents frequently while in flight.
On May 2, 2021, a Canadair CL-215-6B11 aircraft operated by the Province of Ontario, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, was conducting a local training flight at the Sault Ste. Marie Airport, ON.
While conducting the third circuit on Runway 12, the flight crew inadvertently landed the aircraft with the landing gear retracted while conducting a flapless approach and landing exercise. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway surface. There was significant damage to the belly of the aircraft. There were no injuries.
Comment: Pilots have been landing aircraft with the wheels up ever since the retractable undercarriage was invented. Many modern aircraft have audio and visual warnings to indicate when the gear is not down, for example, when at low power settings (when the aircraft is assumed to be landing). However, repetitive circuit work can lead to complacency in raising and lowering the landing gear, especially if a distraction occurs. I am always in the habit of a final check of the landing gear during the latter stage of the approach.
On 10 February 2022 at 0930Z, a pilot accompanied by a passenger on-board a Jabiru 430 with registration ZU-IKI took off on a private flight from Robertson Aerodrome (FARS) with the intention to land at Morning Star Aerodrome, which is situated approximately 3nm north-east of Table View in the Western Cape province. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules by day.
The aircraft flew westward over Robben Island, then south towards the Cape Peninsula coastline at 1,500ft agl. While flying in the Cape Peninsula, the aircraft’s engine stopped in-flight and the pilot executed a forced landing on a road in the Cape Point Nature Reserve. The two occupants on-board the aircraft were injured during the forced landing sequence, the aircraft was substantially damaged.
Comments: Photographs of the accident site show the inhospitable terrain that this pilot was faced with when attempting the forced landing, and a road looked to be the only option for him. Given traffic density in the UK, it’s perhaps unlikely that a forced landing onto a road in the UK would be quite as feasible. Freeway forced landings seem to occur frequently in the USA, and could possibly be an option in the UK – just make sure that you land with the traffic flow!
