Safety team closing in on cause of Moorabbin Airport accident
A student pilot was practising touch-and-go landings when his plane plummeted into the ground at Moorabbin Airport last month, a probe has found, as investigators reveal what they believe happened just before the aircraft crashed.
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The small plane that crashed at Moorabbin Airport in December pitched up steeply and twisted just before the smash, investigators believe.
The student pilot, aged in his 20s, was taken to Alfred Hospital where he was treated for serious head and lower body injuries but has recently returned home.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators are in the process of data recovery and are likely to soon have an answer as to how the student’s Bristell S-LSA aircraft flipped as he practised touch-and-go landings on December 12.
The plane landed on its roof, trapping the young pilot inside.
“During final approach for a touch and go landing, the aircraft is reported to have pitched up steeply and yawed resulting in collision with terrain … the aircraft was substantially damaged,” the ATSB said in a statement online.
“The ATSB will examine the accident site and the aircraft wreckage, interview air traffic control and other relevant personnel, and conduct data recovery.
“Should a critical safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant stakeholders so appropriate and timely safety action can be taken.”
Yesterday an alarm flagged another plane in distress at the airport.
The plane landed safely and no-one at the airport would comment on reports a pilot ran into trouble near Bundoora Pde just after midday.
There have been two accidents in busy airspace in less than two years.
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In 2018, Mornington Peninsula pilot Anthony Liddel was remembered for his heroic efforts as he dodged houses before his aircraft smashed into a suburban street in Mordialloc.
And in 2019 a pilot was lucky to walk away with minor injuries when a plane crash landed at Capital Golf Course on Centre Dandenong Rd.
There had also been a plane crash at the golf course in 2010.
The ATSB says it will release a report when its investigation into December’s crash has been finalised.