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The Diamond DA42 Twin Star, believed to be registered VH-YQP, crashed into a hangar at around 2pm on Wednesday, killing both people on board and injuring several on the ground in the subsequent fire, with 10 taken to hospital.
In its report into the incident on 28 August 2025, the safety watchdog noted that the PA-28, VH-TKX, had neither a functioning radio nor a transponder due to a broken alternator, and was communicating with other pilots in the race via a group chat on the way to Tindal.
Speaking to Australian Aviation, RFACA president Lachlan Hyde said Airservices Australia’s proposed "traffic levelling" and 3-minute departure spacing at Bankstown would cut capacity by 37 per cent at peak windows, representing a “fundamental threat to the viability of GA and flight training”.
The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) has excoriated Experience Co and its subsidiary Skydive Australia, which the union says has applied to the government to hire 37 cheaper overseas workers while axing its local training program. The company says it is not looking to replace local workers.
Around 70 instructors for Skydive Australia, part of Experience Co, walked off the job at eight sites around Australia over the weekend seeking better pay and conditions. It followed similar industrial action in December over stalled enterprise agreement negotiations.
Speaking to ABC’s 7:30, RAAus chair Michael Monck said that one accident does not necessarily point to wider systemic problems. It comes as the organisation faces scrutiny over training shortfalls that allegedly contributed to the deaths of 20-year-old Luke Smith and his brother and cousin.
PROFILES
Raising the Bar in Commercial Laundry: How Rinse & Repeat Is Redefining Service for Aviation
Raising the Bar in Commercial Laundry: How Rinse & Repeat Is Redefining Service for Aviation
UPRT Australia- Transforming Aviation’s Greatest Risk into Its Greatest Asset
UPRT Australia- Transforming Aviation’s Greatest Risk into Its Greatest Asset
