How it unfolded: The five seconds before pilot Glenn Collins caught in horror crash at Avalon Airshow
Avalon aerobatic pilot Glenn Collins remains in a critical condition, surrounded by family in hospital. Experts say he’s lucky to have escaped instant death. So, how did he manage to get out alive?
The family of Avalon aerobatic pilot Glenn Collins was last night by his bedside in hospital after the terrifying crash that almost killed him on Friday.
The veteran pilot was in a stable but critical condition last night as experts said he had been lucky to escape almost certain death.
Analysing Herald Sun images and video of the Avalon Airshow horror crash, Australian Society of Air Safety Investigators past president John Guselli estimated that the aircraft was travelling at a speed of more than 185km/h when it hit the ground.
He said the veteran pilot was “very fortunate” that the rear of the cockpit bared most of the brunt.
“This situation likely minimised that impact,” he said.
“The reported injuries indicate to me that he’s struck the ground hard with a considerable vertical force.”
Mr Guselli said if he had nosed dived the aircraft “would have disintegrated”.
“I would be very surprised if anyone could survive something like that,” he said.
The aviation expert said it appeared that the pilot attempted to pull up but that something may have halted the climb.
“It could have been a malfunction, a control input issue or even a physical incapacitation,” he said.
“It’s infinitely variable, so it’s too early at this stage to know what exactly went wrong.”
Ex-air force and commercial pilot and now Managing Director of Aviation Projects, Keith Tonkin, said the clear, flat area, angle of impact and luck had likely saved his life.
Mr Tonkin, who acts as an aviation expert witness in court cases involving aircraft accidents, said the planes are designed to “withstand strong G-forces” and Collins would have been strapped in with a harness.
“The plane has impacted and continued to travel forward and he hasn’t sustained fatal injury, and on top of that was a hell of a lot of luck,” he said.
Collins, however, did not appear to be wearing a helmet at the time.
The respected pilot, in his 50s, suffered serious spinal and pelvic injuries, and was flown to The Alfred Hospital where he remained on Saturday in a critical but stable condition.
The veteran pilot and keen skydiver was performing a loop with his Paul Bennet Airshow team in front of thousands of fans when his aircraft crashed on Friday.
An industry figure close to Paul Bennet’s team said he expected Collins to begin the excruciating recovery process.
In a statement, the team, who will not perform on Sunday, said Collins was surrounded by family in hospital.
“We would like to acknowledge the extraordinary level of support from medical staff, as well as messages of support received from here and around the world,” they wrote.
Crash investigators were seen examining the wreck which showed the cockpit largely intact.
Longtime Airshow volunteer and witness Ian George said he was “amazed” the veteran pilot survived.
“It was right at that last second, it was like a sudden drop, without warning,” he said.
The accident happened immediately in front of the spectator area and corporate boxes about 5.15pm on Friday.
One attendee said the pilot appeared to jerk the gear stick up at the last second but that it was too late.
The pyrotechnics team were first on the scene, pulling off the canopy and carrying Collins out of the plane before laying him down a safe distance from the wreck.
Nick Broughton, from Sydney, said that he saw the “big cloud of dust and something orange tumbling through the dust” before the crowd went “dead silent”.
“My initial reaction was that it looked like he might not have hit the ground too hard so he might have survived,” he said.
Collins has previously spoken of the risks associated with his stunt performances.
But said his passion and “love” for aviation was immense.
“It’s perceived to be high risk, but it can be, if it’s allowed to be, but that’s the good part about aviation,” he said in a previous interview.
“I’ve had breaks in the past where I haven’t been flying for whatever reason, and — just ask my wife — I get itchy feet and I need to get out of the house and into a cockpit,” he said.
The airshow — which was cancelled for the day on Friday following the horror crash — resumed on Saturday.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia chief executive Benjamin Morgan said Collins and the SkyAces team were “Australian Airshow icons”.
“There’s great comfort knowing that he is receiving world-class medical care in Melbourne and (we hope) that he makes a full recovery,” he said.
The Avalon Airshow said it was working with authorities, including the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, who are conducting investigations.
Originally published as How it unfolded: The five seconds before pilot Glenn Collins caught in horror crash at Avalon Airshow
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