Occurrences

Date	Occurrence #	Location	State	Aircraft	Model	Engine	Model	Summary
26/6/2022	OCC2854	Coffs Harbour Aerodrome	NSW	TL Ultralight	Sting S4	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The pilot was conducting a dual instructional circuit flight...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The pilot was conducting a dual instructional circuit flight on runway 21 with a student at Coffs Harbour Airport during CTAF hours (outside controlled airspace hours). They heard an aircraft report at Red Rock tracking southbound coastal to Bundagen Headland not above 500’. The aircraft then reported at the break wall at Coffs Harbour tracking southbound over water not above 500’. At this time they were on a left downwind over water for runway 21 at 1000’. The aircraft passed them in a southerly direction on their left hand side, inside the circuit pattern at approximately 500’. At this time there was also another aircraft operating in the circuit. The pilot of the other aircraft had made calls but was not aware of the aircraft conducting circuits. Education about the expected transition of airports (at or above 1500'AGL) was provided to the pilot of the transiting aircraft.
25/6/2022	OCC2859	Roseberth	QLD	Jabiru	J120-C	Jabiru	2200	Flying between Betoota and Birdsville at 1,500ft at approx. 18nm from Birdsville the engine started ...
Flying between Betoota and Birdsville at 1,500ft at approx. 18nm from Birdsville the engine started losing power only slightly at first (about 150-200 rpm) the pilot checked engine instruments and observed that the oil pressure was barely registering. The pilot reduced power and retrimmed and slowed to best glide and considered their options. They observed on their EFB that an airstrip was approx. 5 nm ahead. a slightly adjusted course for Roseberth airstrip but the engine was continuing to lose power and there was a sand dune or ridgeline between them and the airstrip and the pilot decided to rule that out as an option and decided to look for a more immediate option for an emergency landing. They made a mayday call on Birsdville CTAF. The pilot then made an emergency landing in a flat stony area of ground.
25/6/2022	OCC2852	Coldstream Aerodrome	VIC	Tecnam	P92 Echo Super	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Engine failure after take-off due to fuel starvation. Both fu...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Engine failure after take-off due to fuel starvation. Both fuel cocks accidentally set to closed immediately prior to entering and rolling RWY35. Landed back on airfield, downwind. No damage to aircraft, nor injury to persons onboard. Pilot noted having performed a full preflight of the aircraft, gone through the start up, pre-take-off and run up checks for the Tecnam P92, prior to a planned short x-country flight. Sufficient fuel was aboard for the planned flight. After the engine run up the pilot taxied to the holding point for RWY35, checked instruments and engine gauges, switched on fuel pump, “opened” the second fuel cock, cleared for traffic, called entering and rolling, lined up and checked compass and engine gauges again, applied throttle for take-off. At 50 knots lifted off the ground, accelerated to 55 and started positive rate of climb. At approximately 100-150ft AGL, the nose pitched up due to increased wind above shear height and climb rate increased over 1200ft/min, airspeed was still at 60 knts. At 1000ft AMSL (700ft AGL), as the pilot was about to turn off fuel pump and lower nose to clean up the aircraft, the engine sputtered and almost stopped. The pilot lowered the nose to maintain airspeed, pulled the throttle back to 50% and the engine responded positively. The throttle was moved to fully open and the engine stopped immediately and completely. The pilot checked fuel pump, engine gauges again, nothing of note but did not check the fuel selectors due to assumption both taps were open prior to take off. The pilot negated to properly check the fuel pressure gauge. Aware of the need to plan and perform a landing, the pilot started looking for a landing site to the north west of the airfield due to wind direction, as per the pre-take off brief. The option were not good on that side, and noted to the North East and East side of the line of flight there were a number of suitable paddocks with lots of space at quite a distance from the position. These paddocks could be made with a downwind or crosswind landing. Closer were some shorter paddocks which could be landed in with some slipping and S-turns but with the prospect of some damage to the aircraft due to fences, shrubs, streams, etc. The pilot turned East toward a large clear area and started a Mayday call, then looked at the departure airfield and realised that the NW wind might assist to reach the airfield, with a downwind landing on the runway as there was no traffic on the ground nor in the pattern. The pilot determined this was preferable to landing quite far from the airfield in a paddock with unknown surface quality and reasonably far from assistance. A revised Mayday call was made to advise landing back on the field, while turning toward the runway. The airfield eastern boundary was crossed at approximately 100-150ft AGL (over a couple of tall trees) and about 140 metres past the start of RWY17. The pilot turned to line up with the runway, flaps were still deployed at take-off position (15 degrees) with no more flap deployed during the landing phase. The landing was smooth and uneventful, though long - touch down was 550m down the length of RWY17. The pilot applied brakes and up elevator, to increase braking effectiveness, slowing and was able to turn off the runway at its end and stop at the holding position. On completing shutdown checks the pilot noticed that the fuel cocks were both set to the off position. Subsequently, going through the start procedure with fuel cocks open resulted in the engine starting without any issues and ignition checks and run-ups appeared fine. The pilot taxied the aircraft back to the aircraft parking area and joined the CFI in the flight school rooms for a coffee and a debrief about the incident. RAAus commends the pilot for reporting these events.
22/6/2022	OCC2850	Murwillumbah Aerodrome	NSW	Tecnam	P96 Golf	Rotax	912UL	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After landing and dropping passenger off at the airfield, the...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After landing and dropping passenger off at the airfield, then applying throttle, the aircraft pitched forward, and propeller hit the ground and the plane rested on the ground. The aircraft only had the pilot on board at the time of the incident.
21/6/2022	OCC2847	South Grafton Aerodrome	NSW	Jabiru	J230-C	Jabiru	3300	At the completion of a 1 hour local flight 3 touch and go circuits on runway 08 were performed at th...
At the completion of a 1 hour local flight 3 touch and go circuits on runway 08 were performed at the completion of which the passenger suggested one more circuit. As there was no wind the pilot changed to runway 26 and after completing pre take-off checks the take-off roll was commenced. The aircraft accelerated and initially climbed well. At approx. 50 feet the engine came to a very abrupt stop without warning. On lowering the nose the appearance of the remaining runway seemed insufficient but after very heavy application of brakes the aircraft came to a stop approx. 15 meters from the end of the runway. No damaged occurred to the aircraft or occupants.
18/6/2022	OCC2846	Goulburn Aerodrome	NSW	Zenith Aircraft	STOL CH 750	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAus: The pilot in a STOL aircraft joined the circuit downwind at 4...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAus: The pilot in a STOL aircraft joined the circuit downwind at 45 degrees at a busy airport which included parachute operations and didn't hear the downwind call from a faster Piper aircraft (30 knots speed difference). The pilot heard another downwind call from the Piper aircraft, made a right-hand orbit away from the runway and the Piper passed by continuing the downwind leg. The pilot estimated the Piper was 600 metres apart and 200 ft below the STOL aircraft at the outside of the orbit. Turning onto base pilot of the STOL was closer to the runway than the Piper (that had a larger circuit pattern) and the Piper offered to go around to reduce the increasing congestion on base as there was another aircraft on downwind as well. The STOL pilot was going to move away from the runway to allow more distance from the Piper but from where the Piper was, they said that this may cause a conflict with the other aircraft on downwind, and they elected to go around. On base the Piper and STOL were clear of each other. The pilot of the STOL aircraft noted their usual procedure was to join mid-crosswind and in the future they would wait for parachute operations to be completed prior to joining circuit.
16/6/2022	OCC2841	Ballarat Aerodrome	VIC	Jabiru	J230-D	Jabiru	3300A	While conducting circuits for approx. 0.7 hrs and having commenced base leg turn with reduced power,...
While conducting circuits for approx. 0.7 hrs and having commenced base leg turn with reduced power, fuel pump and carby heat on, and first stage of flaps the engine began running rough. The pilot suspected carby icing, applied full power while turning towards runway threshold. The communicated to other aircraft in circuit that they had an engine running rough and that they were deviating from circuit to runway. No increase in power, reduced throttle and under partial power completed landing. The engine remained running rough on roll out then stopped. The pilot communicated they were stationary on runway, then made a single attempt to restart engine using choke with no success. They then shut the engine down and pushed the aircraft off the runway. Fuel was noted to be dripping out from under lower cowl.
15/6/2022	OCC2842	Maitland Aerodrome	NSW	TL Ultralight	TL3000 Sirius	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft was backtracking down runway 27 when it was caug...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft was backtracking down runway 27 when it was caught in a gust of wind in which altered the aircraft direction of travel. The pilot was unable to correct the deviation of travel in time before it left the side of runway 27 and to stop in soft grass beside the runway.
15/6/2022	OCC2843	Ballina	NSW	Tecnam	P2002 Sierra MKII	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The PIC thought there might have been smoke in cabin, howeve...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The PIC thought there might have been smoke in cabin, however the heater was activated and had not been in use before. The smell was coming from it.
13/6/2022	OCC2839	Melawondi	QLD	Jabiru	UL450	Jabiru	2200	The aircraft departed Gympie AFLD about 10 minutes before intending to track to Warwick to refuel be...
The aircraft departed Gympie AFLD about 10 minutes before intending to track to Warwick to refuel before continuing to home location in NSW. Just trimmed for cruise at 2500' to assess nav settings and level. The pilot noticed a slight drop in altitude and thought the throttle might be loose. It was not loose, no response. All Ts and Ps looked ok. Then the prop stopped. A restart was attempted but the starter did not budge. The stopped prop was indicating an engine seizure. The pilot contacted another aircraft on 121.5 passed on their information and situation. They indicated they had ADS-B out for further accuracy as they were too busy looking for set down field to take eyes off the airspeed indicator and terrain. Set best glide speed. The pilot saw an airstrip below, but surrounding trees and orientation looked more risky than surrounding paddocks. An adjacent paddock was clear and attainable but on finals the pilot noticed it appeared to full of livestock, so they turned for paddock beside nearby house noting fences across landing path. Committed below 200' AGL had to avoid fences. 1 notch of flaps on base turn at 100'. Full flap near last fence with enough energy for slight clearance over fence. The aircraft immediately drop onto mainwheels on the downhill slope. Soft ground pulled up the landing roll to less than 35 metres. Nosewheel settled and dug into the soft ground tipping the aircraft onto its nose. It almost balanced there and stopped, then fell onto its roof. The only minor injury to the pilot at that point was a bump on the head on the Perspex skylight above (now below). The pilot lowered themselves onto roof inverted as seat belt undone and opened undamaged door to egress.
13/6/2022	OCC2838	Caboolture	QLD	Skyreach	Cheetah XLS (Bushcat)	Rotax	912 ULS	42 Vortex Generators fell off the aircraft. The remainder were able to be removed with light finger ...
42 Vortex Generators fell off the aircraft. The remainder were able to be removed with light finger pressure.
12/6/2022	OCC2837	Proserpine Aerodrome	QLD	Atec	Zephyr	Rotax	912	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The pilot was alone in the cockpit with canopy catches closed...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The pilot was alone in the cockpit with canopy catches closed and secured, when they noticed flames coming out of the engine cover and then the cockpit filled with smoke. The fire had burned through the instrument dash panel and firewall. Fortunately, they were able to open the cockpit canopy and exit the aircraft with without injury or being burned. They went back into the burning aircraft to retrieve the fire extinguisher and just about had the fire extinguished when the small extinguisher ran dry. With the assistance they were able to push the burning aircraft back away from the grass that was on fire. Unfortunately, the fire slowly took over again and once the flames reached the fuel tanks, fiberglass body and Perspex canopy it was a raging inferno. The fire may have been caused by a fuel overflow on start-up which started a small grass fire under aircraft that quickly spread to the rest of the aircraft filling the cockpit with smoke and flames. No flight was intended, and the aircraft remained tied down. Start-up was only for an engine test, not for a flight. The pilot advised that over use of the auxiliary fuel pump at start up was most the likely cause. As the amateur built aircraft did not have a manufacturer provided Pilot Operating Handbook there was no specific guidance on over priming. Pilots are reminded that introducing excessive fuel into the carburation system in any aircraft highly increases the risk of engine fire and possible damage.
6/6/2022	OCC2834	Ballina	NSW	Just Aircraft	Superstol	Rotax	914	The aircraft experienced engine failure while en route from Casino to Tyagarah from an altitude of 6...
The aircraft experienced engine failure while en route from Casino to Tyagarah from an altitude of 6000ft, the pilot attempted to glide to Ballina Airport however winds were out of the west at 56 knots at 6000 and continued to be very strong during decent. When the pilot saw that they weren’t going to make it to the runway, they chose a paddock and landed. The was conservative because of the wind and landed longer than they had planned so needed to turn on the ground to avoid a fence end assembly thus ground looping and causing only small damage to wing tip and aileron. The pilot was in communication with Ballina Information and kept them informed through steps they took including the landing.
4/6/2022	OCC2830	Gawler Aerodrome	SA	Jabiru	J170D	Jabiru	2200B	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft had turned left off runway 31 at Gawler after la...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The aircraft had turned left off runway 31 at Gawler after landing. Grass left is used for glider aircraft landings. As the aircraft crossed the grass and taxied towards a taxiway, the nosewheel fell into a hole in the ground. The engine stopped immediately as the propellor made contact with the soft earth. The hole in the ground was grass covered and just slightly larger than the nosewheel and not evident to the view.
30/5/2022	OCC2823	Redcliffe Aerodrome	QLD	Czech Sport Aircraft	Piper Sport	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: There were three aircraft established in the circuit, conduct...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: There were three aircraft established in the circuit, conducting touch and goes on runway 25 at YRED. A VH-registered aircraft entered the active runway and was about to take off in the opposite direction of the circuit on runway 07. The pilot was contacted via radio by the pilot of an aircraft established downwind for 25. The pilot of the aircraft on the ground stated “the wind had changed and that the preferred runway was 07”. The pilot was then again advised by the pilot of a Helicopter that three aircraft were already operating and established in the circuit for runway 25, to which the pilot ignored and proceeded to take off on runway 07. The pilot commenced take-off on 07 with another aircraft on final for runway 25. As a result, the pilot had to make an evasive turn to the left to avoid the aircraft on final, who also commenced an orbit to avoid opposite direction traffic. As this matter involves the actions of a VH-registered aircraft the occurrence was forwarded to CASA for review in order to address safety concerns relating to the actions of the pilot involved. RAAus received confirmation that this occurrence will be reviewed by the CASA surveillance team.