Canberra, Jan 6 (NationPress) Last year, 27 lives were lost in 20 tragic light aircraft accidents in Australia, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). This marked a decrease from the previous two years, which recorded 33 fatalities each.
Even though there was a reduction in deaths, the series of deadly incidents in 2024 raised alarms regarding the future of the hobby aircraft industry. Aviation specialists are advocating for more comprehensive investigations into recreational aircraft mishaps, as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Monday.
Aviation expert and training officer Lorraine MacGillivray expressed her desire for increased air crash investigations and reduced bureaucratic hurdles for pilot training. This call for action followed a series of crashes in Victoria that claimed five lives between September and November last year, the ABC noted.
However, ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell pointed out that large passenger aircraft take precedence in investigations. He emphasized that the risk of accidents is heightened around Australia’s 2,300 non-towered aerodromes, urging pilots to stay alert to enhance safety.
The ATSB can probe around 70 aviation, maritime, and rail incidents each year, yet receives notifications for over 8,000 incidents annually, according to Xinhua news agency.
On September 13 of the previous year, a light plane crash in southeastern Victoria led to a fatality.
The Victoria Police reported that a man lost his life when a light aircraft went down on private property in Redesdale, a small town located about 100 kilometers northwest of Melbourne.
Authorities stated that the individual, yet to be formally identified, died at the crash site. The pilot was the only person aboard the aircraft.
In another alarming event, a pilot was killed when his helicopter crashed into a hotel in Far North Queensland in August 2024.
Nautilus Aviation, the company that owned the helicopter, confirmed that the pilot was a ground crew employee who undertook an unauthorized flight.
The pilot allegedly accessed the helicopter hangar at Cairns International Airport without permission and took the aircraft. Tragically, the helicopter crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Cairns shortly after takeoff, igniting a fire and necessitating the evacuation of hundreds of guests.
A senior company executive later revealed that the employee, who joined the company just four months prior, held a pilot's license from New Zealand but had never flown in Australia.
