The pilot of VH-BAQ sustained minor injuries, and a passenger severe injuries, when the light plane crashed on approach to a grass airstrip at a property near Noosa on 12 November.
An exploration of strict liability for airline incidents is pertinent following the extraordinary circumstances of a recent Singapore Airlines flight, John Connellan writes.
VH-RSB hit the ground and caught fire after flying into a power line near Merriton on 8 October, killing both the pilot and the single passenger on board and injuring rescuers. In its final report, the ATSB said the power line was in the way of aircraft landing on the property’s grass runway.
Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3, said he backed the tilt-rotor aircraft, which was grounded for three months after being involved in two fatal incidents last year.
According to ATSB director of transport safety Dr Stuart Godley, while both pilots had made the required mandatory calls on the local common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), the Cherokee’s pilot had mistakenly called Mildura’s runway 36 “runway 35”.
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