Light plane plunges into the ocean south of Adelaide 6/2/26

[bushcaddy105]

Very sad story for all associated with the pilots. Channel 7 news tonight reported that one of the students was Bas Scheffer's son who was training towards a commercial licence.

Bas is a co-founder of OzRunways and is still very prominent in it's promotion. May we all eventually learn from the ATSB report.

[Roundsounds]

3 hours ago, Rastus said:

Full spin training is still part of the process of learning to fly in a glider.  Any gliding club would only be too happy to give you exposure to spins and spirals and how to recognise the difference.  How to recover too!

 

Robert

Spin recovery training in a glider for a powered pilot is next to useless. Powered aeroplanes suffer from the effects of slipstream and p-factor, gliders do not.
GA schools need to use appropriately certified aeroplanes and instructors to deliver spin awareness and avoidance training. Spin recovery training is really only of use to aerobatic pilots. 

[3rd harmonic]

I haven't post on here for a while, mainly because my life has been too full (of other non aviation related things). You never think one of these accidents might happen to someone you know. I was fortunate enough to be instructed by on quite a few flights by Leo Howard some years ago at Adelaide Biplanes. Very surprised that he has been involved in a accident that's ended up this way - he had an aerobatic rating and If anyone knew how avoid and/or to recover successfully from a spin it was him.

One day I remember I had turned up hoping to take the RaAus Aeroneca Champ for flight solo (they have also a VH reg one too) but I think there was a rough south easterly blowing and they had decided it wasn't such a good day for hire and fly. But he said, look we can still go go for a flight, so i said why don't we do some incipient spins because I felt i needed the practice, and it might be fun!

We climbed to 3500 out over the water near Selicks hill, and we did spin entry, after spin entry, nose low, nose high, some with abit of power on. Some times we let it go a 1-2 turn before recovery.

It was good practice, I enjoyed every second and the seeing the ground/sea whirling around became much more comfortable after the 4th or 5th one.

On another flight again in the champ, we were doing circuits and he wanted to me to go around.

From the rear seat i had no warning and he pushed the throttle open quicker and with abit of force.

Unfortunately this caught my little finger and jammed between the curved slot and the throttle lever.

After yelling OW, i was bleeding and making a mess in the plane.

He apologised, to his credit he cut me a small bandage from a rag to contain the bleading, so i can say he was a kind individual.

It really wasn't he best lesson, but memorable all the same...

I really don't think it's a question of skill on his part, please don't assert otherwise, to do so would be dishonest.

As Nev has pointed out it may not have been him flying, or he may not have been able to take control quickly enough.

I hope the ATSB, can for once this find some answers as to why it all went so wrong, so quickly.

Such a bugger, so bloody sad...

😭😭