Melbourne’s deadly plane crash: Moment Aussie jets collided

Footage has surfaced of a deadly stunt by two planes in Melbourne that sent one rocketing towards the ocean, killing the men inside.

Footage has showed the horrific moment two military-style jets collided when a stunt they were performing over Melbourne went wrong.

The two Viper S-211 Marchetti light aircraft departed Essendon Fields Airport at about 1:24pm on November 19 last year to film aeroplane stunts — or “aerobatics” — over Port Phillip Bay.

Viper 1 was the lead aircraft carrying a pilot and safety pilot, while Viper 2 had pilot Stephen Gale, 56, and camera operator James Rose, 30, on board. Gale and Rose would not survive.

Viper 1, an S-211 Marchetti, held a pilot and a safety pilot. Picture: ATSB

Viper 2 had pilot Stephen Gale, 56, and camera operator James Rose, 30, both of whom died. Picture: ATSB

Neither aircraft was fitted with a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder, nor were they required to — but four cameras fitted to Viper 1, three of which also recorded audio, helped investigators to determine exactly what happened when the stunt went wrong.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Tuesday released its preliminary report into the crash, including a re-enactment and still images from footage taken by the surviving jet.

The pilots planned to fly in parallel, one upside down, one filming. Picture: ATSB

Instead, Gale tried to pass underneath and the stunt went wrong. Picture: ATSB

Before taking off, the pilots had talked about which stunts they would do, including one that involved Viper 1 flying upside down while Viper 2 flew right-way-up alongside it, filming.

They attempted the stunt mid-air and Gale passed beneath Viper 1 which, according to ATSB, hadn’t been planned.

He radioed in and asked to fly underneath Viper 1 again, saying it was a “better filming opportunity”.

It was on their second attempt that disaster struck.

The aircraft’s wings collided, sending Gale’s plane hurtling towards the ocean. Picture: ATSB

Gale passed beneath Viper 1 once again but, as he did so, the wings of the two aircraft collided.

His plane, Viper 2, rocketed into the air and flipped upside down, before moving into a “near vertical, nose-down flight path toward the water”.

It rolled again and hit the water at high speed.

Both Gale and Rose died in the crash.

Their aircraft was later discovered on the ocean floor of Port Phillip Bay, in pieces.

Gale (right) and his passenger Rose died in the crash.

The two pilots in Viper 1 said they felt the collision but did not see it. Their aircraft was still controllable and they tried to contact Gale, but there was no response.

Seeing splash marks on the water and debris, they made a mayday call.

The surviving pilots landed safely at Essendon Fields at 1:49pm.

Images of the damaged wing of their jet show streaks of scraped paint and a clear indentation from where it was hit.

Damage on the right wing of Viper 1 (left) with an overlay representing the wing of Viper 2 (right) after the two planes collided in Port Phillip Bay. Picture: ATSB.

Gale, a highly experienced flyer, owned Jetworks Aviation, an Essendon Fields-based business created for a TV documentary called Any Fool Can Fly.

He also held endorsements in aerobatics and spinning flight activity.

Rose was a talented drone operator who worked on high-profile TV shows, including for the Nine Network, Seven Network and production company EndemolShine, which produces MasterChef.

A final report into the crash will be released at the end of the ATSB’s investigation.