ATSB report reveals ‘strong winds’ on the day Jack Miller died in fatal plane crash
Witnesses have revealed there were strong winds on the day a 20-year-old pilot died in a fatal crash during take off near Bacchus Marsh.
West
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An instructor cancelled a student’s flight due to strong winds on the day a 20-year-old pilot was killed in a crash just after take off near Parwan.
Jack Miller, 20, died moments after he took off in his Cessna 150 light aircraft at the Bacchus Marsh Aerodrome, crashing into a paddock on October 22 about 11.15am.
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau preliminary report into the accident revealed witnesses described the wind as “strong and gusty” on the day, with one flight instructor cancelling a student’s flight due to the “increasingly gusty conditions”.
ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the day’s weather conditions would be “part of the ongoing analysis as we progress through the investigation”.
Mr Miller was not associated with nearby flying and gliding schools.
His plane, registered as VH-EYU, was operated by Bacchus Marsh Aero Club.
It was Mr Miller’s second attempt at a take off, making a radio call minutes earlier saying he was rejecting his first.
Witnesses said they saw the left wing “drop rapidly” before the aircraft “entered a vertical descent, rotating approximately 270 degrees” before crashing.
According to the ATSB report there were no “pre-impact defects” with the flight controls or structure of the aircraft.
Available CCTV and mobile footage as well as the aircraft’s full maintenance history will be reviewed further as part of the full investigation.
The report revealed Mr Miller had about 184 hours of total aeronautical experience and held a recreational pilot licence and class 2 aviation medical certificate.
After his tragic death Mr Miller’s heartbroken family described the 20-year-old as “kind hearted”.
The final ATSB report will be released at a later date.
About three weeks later Luke and Benny Smith, aged 20 and 16 respectively, and their cousin Dusty Daly, 15, were also killed when their plane crashed into a paddock near Tinamba West.
The preliminary ATSB report into that crash is yet to be released.
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