Safety in the vicinity of non-towered aerodromes - Australian ...

Figure 13: Damage to Piper PA-28 Warrior aircraft after mid-air collision in
circuit at Coldstream Aerodrome, Vic.
Source: ATSB, 2006b
In February 2007, a Cessna A188B Ag Truck aircraft collided during takeoff from
Leongatha Aerodrome, Vic. with a Piper PA-28R-180 Arrow aircraft that had landed
on the intersecting runway. The takeoff was aborted and the aircraft was landed
straight ahead. There were no injuries.
In December 2007, a Cessna 172M Skyhawk aircraft collided with an Avid Flyer
ultralight in mid air near Latrobe Valley Aerodrome, Vic. While the Cessna Skyhawk
landed safely, the ultralight collided with the ground and the pilot was fatally injured.
In February 2008, two Air Tractor AT-502 agricultural aircraft collided in mid air
about 200 ft above ground level near Wee Waa Aerodrome, NSW. One aircraft was
involved in crop spraying while the other had just departed from a nearby airstrip.
Neither pilot was aware of the other aircraft. Both aircraft were destroyed, and one of
the pilots was fatally injured.
In December 2008, a Cessna 172 Skyhawk aircraft collided on the ground with a
Skyfox aircraft at Caloundra Aerodrome, Qld. The Cessna Skyhawk was backtracking
on runway 05, and was crossing the intersection with runway 12/30 when the Skyfox
that had just landed collided with its tail. The Skyhawk pilot reported that he had not
heard any radio broadcasts from the Skyfox pilot. There were no injuries.
7.1.2 Serious incidents
Other conflicts between aircraft at non-towered aerodromes had the potential to be
accidents. In fact, almost 10 per cent of the reported 709 occurrences were serious
incidents, in which an accident almost occurred. Below are a few examples of close
calls involving commercial aircraft between 2003 and 2008:
• At about sunrise, the pilot of a Fairchild Metroliner aircraft took off from Mackay
Aerodrome. At the same time, the flight crew of another Metroliner was
conducting a backtrack on the same runway. The crews of both aircraft took
avoiding action. Confirmation that the runway was clear prior to commencing the
departure was attempted, but not obtained, by the departing pilot.
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