Pilot of crashed plane Marcel van Hattem not required to file flight plan for joy ride

It took hours for the alarm to be raised by authorities after a plane failed to return from a joy ride off the Gold Coast. Here’s why it wasn’t raised sooner.

MARCEL van Hattem was not required to file a flight plan or notify authorities when he planned to return after taking a friend for a 30-minute joyride off South Stradbroke Island.

By the time the passenger’s boyfriend raised the alarm – almost three hours after they were due to land back at Southport Flying Club’s Coombabah airstrip – the wreckage would have already sunk into the ocean.

An amateur pilot contacted by the Gold Coast Bulletin said it was common practice for pilots to not file a flight plan, if it was not required by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).

“If you’re going up for a joyride and you’re not going to fly into controlled airspace, there’s no reason to file a flight plan,” he said.

The search for the missing Yak-52 plane around South Stradbroke Island (Jumpinpin). Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

READ MORE:

Young mum passenger in missing plane

‘Friendly, well liked’ pilot of missing plane identified

“You would probably tell the people at your base where you are planning to go and for how long, or you would probably just tell a friend.

“It would then be a case of them knowing how long you’ve been gone and then the onus is on them to raise the alarm.”

Airservices Australia, the Federal Government body which monitors and polices aircraft flying into controlled airspace, said Mr van Hattem “did not and was not required to file a flight plan”.

Marcel van Hattem with his plane Pay Cheque

OTHER NEWS:

How group made $2m profit on property deal

The Coast suburb that wants more people

When closed gym will reopen to public

When a flight plan is filed with Airservices Australia, a SARTIME which stands for “time search action required” is also nominated by the pilot. This is when AirServices Australia notifies Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) when overdue aircraft after communications checks on Air Traffic Services (ATS) radio frequencies fail to make contact.

Kim Rolph-Smith, a former president of Warbirds Australia, said his company provided adventure flights for its clientele.

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: GET FULL DIGITAL ACCESS + JABRA WIRELESS HEADPHONES

Marcel van Hattem

He said as the missing plane was a private plane it wasn’t subject to the same types of requirements commercials flights had to meet.

“It seems very strange that it wasn’t reported missing earlier,” he said. “Normally, when we have someone going on a flight, they have a friend or a spouse waiting for them on the ground.

“It beggars belief that the boyfriend or partner didn’t let anyone know they’d been gone for that long.

“These planes only have enough fuel to last around two hours.

“At the end of the day, the timing doesn’t really matter (due to the nature) …. of the accident.”

Originally published as Pilot of crashed plane Marcel van Hattem not required to file flight plan for joy ride