Bass Strait plane missing 02/08/25

[onetrack]

The Tasmanian Police held a media conference at 6:00PM EST today - but, typical of Police Media conferences ....

 

1. They were tight-lipped, just went over all the known details, and revealed nothing more than we already know - even to the extent of refusing to ID the aircraft make, when it's already public knowledge, and on the ASN database.....

2. They have had some information come in from the public, but refused to reveal what it was. It certainly wasn't along the lines of, "Yes, I saw this aircraft screaming earthwards".....

3. They had to field the normal dozens of dumb media journalists questions.....

4. They've found precisely nothing worth reporting.

 

The link to the Tassie Police page is below, and on the page is a link to a media sound file, that is an audio record of todays conference. I fear that any news that comes in from now on, will only confirm our worst expectations.

 

Extensive search in Bass Strait for missing plane - Tasmania Police

WWW.POLICE.TAS.GOV.AU

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Tasmania Police Northern Division Commander Marco Ghedini and Tasmania Police Inspector Nick Clark have today provided an update into the search for a light plane, and its two occupants, which was...

 

[Jabiru7252]

Maybe it was aliens - didn't an aircraft disappear without trace over Bass straight 40 years ago or more? I think the pilot reported strange lights before he disappeared.
🛸

Edited Monday at 01:59 PM by Jabiru7252

[onetrack]

Yes, that was the famous/infamous Frederick Valentich case. The disappearance of Valentich has never been satisfactorily resolved, but spatial disorientation has been suggested as the most likely cause.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Frederick_Valentich

 

[FlyBoy1960]

The news conference held by the police said that it was a "mid-sized dog"

 

If a dog of this sized freaked out during the flight anything is possible

[facthunter]

 Bass Strait  was at that stage regarded as Australia's Bermuda Triangle.. I crewed a DCA F27 at short Notice to search for that Fellow.  Had about 6 observers on Board .  Maybe the DCA pilots were on a day off. Nev

[BurnieM]

42 minutes ago, FlyBoy1960 said:

The news conference held by the police said that it was a "mid-sized dog"

 

If a dog of this sized freaked out during the flight anything is possible

I have 2 x 10kg Jack Russells and I know their temperment pretty well.

I plan to take them for short test flights to get them acustomised before any longer trips.

I also plan to fit anchor points for their harnesses to limit their movement in bad turbulence.

 

In the list of things that could have gone wrong the dog freaking out is not in my top 10.

 

[turboplanner]

45 minutes ago, BurnieM said:

I have 2 x 10kg Jack Russells and I know their temperment pretty well.

I plan to take them for short test flights to get them acustomised before any longer trips.

I also plan to fit anchor points for their harnesses to limit their movement in bad turbulence.

 

In the list of things that could have gone wrong the dog freaking out is not in my top 10.

 

A Jack Russell weighs about 6-8 Kg but the loose term "mid-sized dog" would put it around 20 - 24 kg, so needing to be in a cage to ensure not going out of the envelope of a 600 kg MTOW airctraft.

[facthunter]

I don't see a cage as a necessary requirement G of G wise. Some restraint is another matter. (interfere with control movement).. Pets are being allowed on commercial flights more and more. Nev

[pmccarthy]

No room for a cage in a Bristell.

[rgmwa]

1 hour ago, BurnieM said:

I have 2 x 10kg Jack Russells and I know their temperment pretty well.

I plan to take them for short test flights to get them acustomised before any longer trips.

I also plan to fit anchor points for their harnesses to limit their movement in bad turbulence.

 

In the list of things that could have gone wrong the dog freaking out is not in my top 10.

 

Do you have any concerns about how a very noisy environment like a small aircraft cockpit could affect their hearing?

[onetrack]

Dogs are the equivalent of toddlers. They need near-constant restraint and control, otherwise they will get into everything. Dogs are easily excited - especially when they sight what they view as prey, or something that's fun to chase.

A bird flying past the aircraft would more than likely make any dog excited, and jump for it. A dog in the lap of a passenger of an ultralight, that has a compact cabin at best, is asking for trouble.

 

I cannot see where a "mid-sized dog" would fit in the rear compartment of a Bristell. The rear compartment is limited to 15kg capacity, and also divided into two sections - A and B section, and the POH advises B section is limited to 1kg.

 

From the POH: "The rear baggage compartment is located behind the seats. It may accommodate up to 15 kg (33 lb). This space is divided into two sections – baggage compartment A and B. Do not use baggage compartment B for
heavy objects (max. 1 kg)."

 

I see aviators showing their dogs in the rear seat of 4 seaters, restrained by a suitable harness, which I would consider is sensible and practical. But a front seat position for a dog would be a big no-no, IMO.

[BurnieM]

Assuming we are talking about a Bristell NG5, 15kg does seem quite low for the luggage space behind the seats.

Probably why it has 2 x 20kg luggage lockers in the wings (further forward).

 

The Sling 2 has a limit of 35kg luggage behind the seats.

 

[BurnieM]

37 minutes ago, rgmwa said:

Do you have any concerns about how a very noisy environment like a small aircraft cockpit could affect their hearing?

Ear muffs and skarf type ear protection is available.

Sometimes I feeld like I do more research on dog options than plane.

 

[facthunter]

IF their ears tolerate their own barking the Plane won't worry them. Dogs go deaf anyway. . Nev

[rgmwa]

10 minutes ago, facthunter said:

IF their ears tolerate their own barking the Plane won't worry them. Dogs go deaf anyway. . Nev

They will if you put them in a plane without some form of hearing protection.

[facthunter]

It would take a while but their Barking can be Louder than the interior of a Plane. You can hear my dogs 4 Kms away. Nev

[turboplanner]

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

I don't see a cage as a necessary requirement G of G wise. Some restraint is another matter. (interfere with control movement).. Pets are being allowed on commercial flights more and more. Nev

If you remember Startibartfast lost control of his Morgan with a 15 kg toolbox added. A 25 kg dog that decides to move in a 600 KG MTOW, i.e. NOT the Commercial aircraft you mention, is going to make a significant difference depending where he/she finished up.

 

Hiowever, in this case there's nothing to say the aircraft didn't just have an engine out and went down after perhaps a successfulk ditching, nor is there anything to say it wasn't a medical episode.

 

 

[pmccarthy]

I don't see how two people of a certain age (same as SWMBO and me) could travel in a Bristell with a dog. Their luggage would go in the wing lockers, but...

The sockets for the headsets are in the centre panel behind the seats. At the very least, the dog could knock out or chew them. The dog moving about would create distraction and could destabilise the Bristell, already known to be sensitive to W&B issues and excessive control inputs.

[onetrack]

Tasmanian Police have identified the couple and their aircraft - a Bristell Classic, formerly called the Bristell NG5, RA registration 23-2180. 

 

The couple are Greg Vaughan, 72 and his partner, Kim Worner, 66. 

 

Couple aboard missing flight from Tasmania named as Gregory Vaughan, Kim Worner - ABC News

WWW.ABC.NET.AU

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The couple missing since Saturday on a flight from Tasmania to New South Wales with their dog have been named by Tasmania Police.

 

AMSA have pulled out of the search and handed it over to the Tasmanian Police. It's become too rough in the Strait for search boats to go out, and the solitary search aircraft now is the PolAir helicopter.

PolAir have been searching the coastline East of Georgetown, it's obviously been calculated that they went down within 20 mins of leaving George Town, as zero communication was made by the pilot.

 

Tasmanian Police say they will continue the search for today and tomorrow, and will then re-assess the need to continue searching. It's obvious they'll only be looking for wreckage now, there will be no survivors.

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 07:57 AM by onetrack

[Thruster88]

So we can see 23-2180 did have an adsb transponder. No show on the day might indicate a crash soon after takeoff at low level before in range of ground receiver. 

[440032]

an ex CASA guy, I'm reliably told.

 

Many years ago (30?) a Taylor Monoplane went MIA from Barwon Heads on a flight to Latrobe Valley (maybe?)

He was found the next day, alive, trapped in the wreckage in the saltbush about 2 miles east of Barwon Heads. Didn't get far.

[pmccarthy]

Sky News had an "aviation expert" Byron Bailey. He said three things and, as generalisations, they were all wrong. 

• a light plane like this would not have a transponder
• if you are flying more than 50 miles you have to lodge a flight plan
• you are supposed to make a departure call from any airfield within 5 miles of departure.

Then he said "why would you fly a single engine aircraft across Bass Strait in winter, its something I wouldn't do"? Fair comment, but winter is probably as good a time as summer. Water temperature is a killer either way, weather can be just as good.

 

Edited 17 hours ago by pmccarthy

[onetrack]

I watched that SKY news clip, what a load of drivel. Byron Bailey comes across as a dill, talking about the aircraft "having radar". Totally unprofessional. Talks about the Bristell as "home-built", when they are factory-built only.

Winter often provides a good number of flying days, and smoother ones than Summer.

 

The bloke in the link below wrote himself off in a Mooney, in Nov 2024, whilst carrying dogs around the U.S. He had a CFIT in Windham, NY State.

While a dog is not directly implicated in the crash, previous photos of his dog-transporting techniques show dogs apparently loose in the cabin, while other shots show some dogs in pet carriers.

 

But regardless, dogs in an aircraft cockpit are a potential major distraction that one doesn't need, when the workload can already be high.

This U.S. pilot was obviously battling with poor weather conditions, maybe a dog distracted him even further, and made him lose situational awareness.

 

I can only see two likely scenarios for this Bristell crash, either a severe medical event (heart attack or stroke), or the dog got excited and knocked switches or controls, and produced an upset that he couldn't recover from.

 

NTSB report leaves unanswered questions about deadly Windham plane crash - WNYT.com NewsChannel 13

WNYT.COM

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The NTSB is out with their report on a deadly plane crash in Windham, Nov. 24.As NewsChannel 13 has been reporting, the plane was carrying three dogs rescued from a high-kill shelter. The pilot and one dog...

 

[Love to fly]

7 minutes ago, onetrack said:

I can only see two likely scenarios for this Bristell crash, either a severe medical event (heart attack or stroke), or the dog got excited and knocked switches or controls, and produced an upset that he couldn't recover  

 

Hmm what about an electrical failure. I’m told no manual fuel pump, just the electric one. Fuel pump is electric,  No transponder, radio, fuel could be an issue methinks. 

[FlyBoy1960]

20 minutes ago, Love to fly said:

Hmm what about an electrical failure. I’m told no manual fuel pump, just the electric one. Fuel pump is electric,  No transponder, radio, fuel could be an issue methinks. 

 

The engine is a 912 ULS (100 HP) and it has a mechanical fuel pump. 

Engine verified by RA-Aus incident report on their website. 

It would be very heavy with 2 people, luggage, a 20 kg dog and probably full fuel with just 100 hp. (and no flaps if the electrics went out)