Occurrences

Date	Occurrence #	Location	State	Aircraft	Model	Engine	Model	Summary
1/3/2020	OCC1961	Welby	NSW	Jabiru	LSA 55/2J	Jabiru	2.2	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Poor fuel management resulted in fuel exhaustion and a forced...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Poor fuel management resulted in fuel exhaustion and a forced landing into a paddock. the aircraft suffered undercarriage damage and has been repaired as required. No serious injuries occurred and the pilot has been debriefed regarding decision making and fuel monitoring procedures. The aircraft has a fuel tank inside the cockpit which can be quite opaque if not well lit. This was also noted as a possible factor in the accident occurring. The aircraft owner has also implemented a fuel log to ensure pilots are aware of minimum fuel requirements prior to flight.
1/3/2020	OCC1969	Bowen Aerodrome	QLD	World Aircraft Company	Spirit	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst flying to Mackay from Townsville the pilot diverted to...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst flying to Mackay from Townsville the pilot diverted to Bowen due to weather. They completed a straight in approach on the runway, however did not see the marking indicating the runway was closed until they landed. The pilot had not checked NOTAMs for Bowen airport as they did not intend on landing or overflying there. The incident was reviewed with the local CFI who debriefed and retested pilot as part of a licence upgrade following this occurrence. Flight planning in relation to weather alternates and aerodrome serviceability was specifically covered.
29/2/2020	OCC1965	Dalgety	NSW	Jabiru	J120C	Jabiru	2200	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst conducting a dual flight training exercise, after bein...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Whilst conducting a dual flight training exercise, after being airborne for approx. 35-40 minutes conducting air exercise without incident (all engine temps and pressures good). On recovery from a demo of stalling in a descending turn, the aircraft, on full power (3000 RPM) at about 5400ft, began to miss and run rough, throttle closed but engine seized within 5 seconds. A Mayday was issued to Melbourne Centre (120.75) and acknowledged. The Instructor selected suitable landing area (sheep paddock) and carried out a forced landing without further incident, damage or injury. They then called 000 to report their position and waited for emergency services. The aircraft was recovered and taken to Jindabyne Airfield where an L2 Maintainer inspected engine and reported major failure of piston in No.1 cylinder. The engine is to be removed and returned to the manufacturer for further diagnosis.
29/2/2020	OCC1963	Yass River	NSW	Atec	Zephyr	Rotax	912S	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Prior to departure, the pilot made a phone call to landing gr...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: Prior to departure, the pilot made a phone call to landing ground owner - who advised of good weather conditions and wind from NE. On arrival, the pilot was in radio contact with ground. They found the landing ground after one or two "orbits" and were anticipating landing to the east and conducted two low level reconnoitre circuits (in landing configuration/speed) of landing ground. Ground advised the wind direction had changed roughly 90 degrees and was now westerly. The pilot changed circuit direction with intention to conduct low level reconnoitres from other direction (landing to west). On the first approach everything looked/felt great and the pilot decided to proceed with landing. The landing ground, eastern end recently graded, so earth bank on threshold appeared to be start of "strip" (from air the pilot did not notice the sharp change in slope). Very aware of the challenging nature of the "strip" the pilot wanted to touch down at the very start/threshold, to minimise the ground role. Unfortunately, the touchdown point selected and achieved, was actually on the up slope of the bank, about 1 metre below the "strip" proper. The pilot realised the mistake too late to add power/go round and touched down at about 30 knots. The aircraft impacted the slope coming to a stop on strip threshold.
26/2/2020	OCC1967	Sunshine Coast	QLD	The Airplane Factory	Sling 2	Rotax	912is	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A Student pilot on a solo flight departed the Caloundra aerod...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A Student pilot on a solo flight departed the Caloundra aerodrome and inadvertently ventured into Sunshine Coast controlled airspace over Pt Cartwright. They then realised this error and conducted a 180 degree turn to return back to the Caloundra aerodrome. Sunshine Coast Tower tried contacting them on the Caloundra CTAF, however the student was unable to make out the transmissions due to a faulty headset. A remote investigation was conducted by RAAus and identified the primary cause was lack of adherence to map to ground referencing and basic navigation principles by the pilot. A subsequent flight review was undertaken with the school CFI full controlled airspace avoidance, radio communications and DED reckoning procedures were successfully reviewed. No technical faults were identified in the headset or radio.
25/2/2020	OCC1964	Rylstone Airpark	NSW	Rand Kar	X-Air	Rotax	582UL	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: The aircraft skin appeared to be delaminating. The ai...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: The aircraft skin appeared to be delaminating. The aircraft is only three years old and has always been hangared, has completed 28 hours and in between morning and evening flights has been returned to the hangar (not parked in the sun).
24/2/2020	OCC1959	Wangaratta Aerodrome	VIC	Aeropro	3K Eurofox	Rotax	912ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A Student was under instruction doing touch and go circuits w...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: A Student was under instruction doing touch and go circuits when a Magpie was at the touchdown point of the aircraft. It was struck by the nose wheel fortunately. There was no impact sound or indication they had hit it but the ARO when contacted by radio while they were completing their aerodrome inspection and confirmed the strike. Upon landing there was no damage to the aircraft found apart from a few small feathers and marks on the tyre. This is the first reported bird strike incident at this location by RAAus. RAAus continues to monitor bird strike and wildlife reports at aerodromes to ensure correct ERSA/NOTAM information is in place and to enable reporting to the aerodrome proprietor.
23/2/2020	OCC1962	Caboolture	QLD	Fly Synthesis	Texan 550	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: Bronze bushes on the ailerons found to be worn, allow...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: Bronze bushes on the ailerons found to be worn, allowing vertical movement of approximately 1mm. Specification is for "no play, up or down". Wear that was beyond manufacturers published limits not identified during preceding routine scheduled maintenance.
23/2/2020	OCC1957	Murray Bridge Aerodrome	SA	Jabiru	J160-C	Jabiru	2200	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The student was conducting their first solo after completing ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: The student was conducting their first solo after completing five circuits to a safe standard. Additional traffic had just landed, slowing down to exit the runway. The student lined up and started rolling without realising the traffic still had not exited the runway via the taxiway. The traffic subsequently exited via taxiway safely but the student was startled during the initial take-off roll, reduced the power and came off the side of the runway with no damage. The student will undertake further assessment flights with an Instructor prior to solo.
19/2/2020	OCC1960	Holbrook	NSW	Aeropro	3K Eurofox	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: While conducting a training cross country exercise (Wangaratt...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: While conducting a training cross country exercise (Wangaratta-Brocklesby-Holbrook) the Instructor saw a twin engine aircraft approaching at their 10.00 o'clock causing them to immediately bank sharply to the left and conduct a slight pull up. The Twin was approximately 200 ft below them and passed approx. 200 meters in front of them. The RAAus aircraft was at 3650 ft and a right turn would have caused their paths to cross but with 200 ft separation. The Instructor was unable to contact the other aircraft by radio and presumed it was on Albury frequency requesting a clearance. Twenty minutes later the Eurofox was 10 miles from Holbrook the same twin overflew it by about 300 ft from about 5.00 o’clock. This time the Instructor was able to contact the pilot on Holbrook CTAF and they both acknowledged that it is important to keep eyes outside the cockpit.
15/2/2020	OCC1956	Riddell Aerodrome	VIC	Ekolot	KR-030 Topaz	Rotax	912 UL	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During supervised solo circuit training the aircraft bounced ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During supervised solo circuit training the aircraft bounced from a hard landing and on the second bounce power was added on the down slope resulting in a prop strike. The student pilot and CFI were both interviewed and a full debrief and subsequent retraining was conducted. Human Factor considerations in decision making were prime contributing factors to this event.
6/2/2020	OCC1949	Whitegum Aviation	WA	Micro Aviation	Bat Hawk	Camit	3300SLRE	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: During annual inspection noted elevator control telef...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: DEFECT: During annual inspection noted elevator control teleflex cable inner guide tube has migrated out of the outer cable. Guide tube was only held captive by rubber dust sleeve.
3/2/2020	OCC1945	Noosa Heads	QLD	The Airplane Factory	Sling 2	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After take off I was cleared by ATC to the north over water, ...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After take off I was cleared by ATC to the north over water, not above 1500 ft. I believed I had cleared the controlled zone at 1500 ft and started climbing to 3500 ft without a clearance over Noosa Heads. I believed I was out of the CTA step without looking at my maps. ATC called up on 126.7 advising that the aircraft had penetrated airspace at Noosa Heads. The occurrence was reviewed by Operations for compliance. The pilot has subsequently undertaken a BFR and the incident was successfully reviewed with the school CFI. To prevent further occurrences the pilot will ensure maps confirm visibly recognised landmarks to ensure appropriate separation to airspace boundaries.
1/2/2020	OCC1951	Shepparton Aerodrome	VIC	Tecnam	P92 Echo Super	Rotax	912 ULS	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During dual circuit lessons, at approx. 0.7 hr into the circu...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: During dual circuit lessons, at approx. 0.7 hr into the circuit during the downwind checks it was observed that the fuel burn was uneven in the fuel tanks. It was decided to address the imbalance by turning off the right hand tap allowing the left tank to be used for the remainder of the flight. The engine began to run rough then stopped after a couple of minutes. The Instructor took immediate control of the aircraft, set glide speed and made decision that the aircraft was not within glide range of the runway. A suitable paddock was selected and a mayday call broadcast with intentions for the circuit traffic VH-ITY also on downwind for runway 18. Trouble checks were conducted finding that both fuel taps were set in the off position. Engine re-start was successful. Circuit was completed normally with a full stop landing. The FTS has initiated a change to procedures preventing changes to the fuel taps during circuits. This event is noted as occurring in Tecnam P92 on previous occasions with students and instructors due to the action of the taps on each door pillar. Pilots are recommended to review the POH for the aircraft to familiarize themselves with the correct fuel tap positioning.
29/1/2020	OCC1938	Taroom	QLD	Ercoupe	415- C	Continental	C85	OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After becoming disoriented to their location the pilot perfor...
OCCURRENCE DETAILS SUBMITTED TO RAAUS: After becoming disoriented to their location the pilot performed a precautionary landing due to low fuel. The pilot was suffering dehydration which adversely affected their decision making. Investigation revealed that the pilot had an overdue BFR, required a medical declaration and aircraft registration was also overdue. The pilot certificate has been suspended until the pilot can undergo a BFR in addition to any other remedial training as required. Members are encouraged to use the Member App and Member Portal to ensure their compliance requirements including flight reviews, membership and aircraft registration are current and correct. Members are also encouraged to ensure appropriate flight planning is completed, including fuel management and consider the effects of dehydration when operating in hot climates and to have suitable amounts of water with them at all times.