iscover
In dramatic scenes that spread across social media, the Piper PA-28, VA-BUN, crashed on the golf course on Sydney’s Northern Beaches on 17 August 2025 following a mechanical failure, with a student pilot sustaining minor injuries and the aircraft itself suffering heavy damage.
All three occupants of the experimental Morgan Cougar Mk 1, VH-LDV – 20-year-old pilot Luke Smith; his younger brother Ben, 16; and cousin Dusty Daly, 15 – were killed when it crashed into a paddock near West Sale Airport on 16 November 2024.
Gobel Aviation (formerly Soar Aviation), which was liquidated after entering administration in late 2020, was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Victoria to have been responsible for a 2017 light plane crash that left student Edward Ripper traumatised and unable to pursue a commercial pilot career.
Speaking to Sunrise, Angus Mitchell said the student pilot – identified in The Advertiser as 21-year-old Youngin Kim – was “very fortunate” to have escaped uninjured in the accident, which saw the Cessna 172M Skyhawk, understood to be registered VH-LGE, burst into flames, sparking a grass fire.
The plane, identified as a Cessna 172, sparked a grass fire in the accident at around 12:30pm on Monday 5 December, leading to dramatic photos and video on social media. The pilot escaped uninjured, according to officials.
When air traffic outpaces infrastructure, smart fixes matter. See how a US airport’s container-built control tower offers a practical model for small regional airports in Australia.
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
