Two ultralight accidents over the weekend

[Guest Darren Masters]

:( C'mon fellow airmen. Let's be careful here. I am not jumping to conclusions (pending reports) but here are some stories over the past 24hrs. Sad weekend for us.

 

1) Two men are believed to have died in an ultralight aircraft crash at Oak Valley, southwest of Townsville this morning.

 

Police said a witness saw the aircraft at 8.50am attempting a turn when the motor was heard to increase in revolutions and then cut-out. The ultralight then spiralled to the ground.

 

Police conducted a search with air support from other ultralight operators.

 

The air search located wreckage semi-submerged in a creek and then guided searchers to the location.

 

Police and the Australian Ultralight Association are investigating the incident.

 

and:

 

2) THE pilot of an ultralight single-seater plane has had a lucky escape when the aircraft burst into flames after crashing at an airstrip at Northam.

 

Police said the 43-year-old man had been taken by helicopter to Royal Perth Hospital with minor burns and spinal injuries after the ultralight crashed shortly after take-off at the Northam airstrip, 96km east of Perth, at 2.45pm today.

 

Inspector Trevor Davis said the plane was reported to have lost power after taking off and crashed 50m from the runway before it burst into flames.

 

The pilot was pulled out by ground staff and conveyed to Perth with minor burns and spinal injuries,'' he said.

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

2 posts

 

 

[sixtiesrelic]

What IS going on?

 

Are there more of them flying than Light aircraft or is the greater thrust /drag ratio, compared with lighties catching them out with engine failures.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Two seperate accidents. Not sure what's happening here but generally a Lycoming on Continental is a little more reliable than Jabiru or Rotax. I'm not a huge fan of two strokes (some love them) and Jabiru really need to sort some of the issues they are having with valves breaking off and kissing pistons.

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

A YOUNG woman lost her father and boyfriend in a microlight plane crash at Oak Valley south-west of Townsville yesterday.

 

Both men from the Townsville suburb of Mount Louisa were killed when the microlight apparently experienced engine trouble during a 20-minute joy-ride from the Montpelier Air Park.

 

Inspector Ron Walmsley from Townsville Police, said the young woman was waiting at the air park, when the crash occurred about 3km away.

 

"She was very distraught," he said.

 

Witnesses told police they saw the aircraft in the sky, and then it "fell out of the sky".

 

"Some reports suggest the motor revved loudly and then cut out but that's a matter for the aviation investigators," Insp Walmsley said.

 

A search by police and local ultralight pilots found the wreckage about an hour later, partly submerged in a deep water hole about 3 1/2km from the air park.

 

The bodies of both victims were pulled from inside the microlight.

 

Insp Walmsley said a post-mortem examination would reveal whether the men died from injuries suffered in the plane crash, or drowned.

 

Laurie Brown, from the Wulguru Fire Station, said there was extensive damage to the microlight's propeller, wing and frame, and one of its wheels was torn off.

 

"The damage was consistent with witness reports that it hit a tree on the way down," Mr Brown said.

 

Local resident Graham Law said in his 25 years in the area, there had never been a serious accident at the air park.

 

"This will upset a lot of people. It's a very tight knit community down there (at the air park)," Mr Law said

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

There are other news items about this posted at viewtopic.php?t=4964

 

 

[Guest Darren Masters]

Copy. Now I have made a carbon copy :evil:

 

 

[Guest Glenn]

Nevermind mate. I won't send you to the sin bin over it.