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This page has been published to record as many Australian Microlight Crashes (fatal or serious) as possible so we can all learn from these incidents and hopefully become safer pilots. All articles and opinions are to be referenced. Hopefully the page will have but a few entries.

If you can assist with reports,opinions or ideas please post your message at: http://au.groups.yahoo.com/group/australianmicrolightclub or email me.

"A man has died after a hang glider crash at the Royal Newcastle Aero Club at Rutherford, near Maitland. The 48-year-old from Medowie was on his first solo flight when he plummeted to the ground about 9am today.

Police, Ambulance, Ambulance Rescue and NSW Fire Brigades officers arrived at the crash site a short time later, however the man died at the scene.

Police from the Lower Hunter Local Area Command and investigators from the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia are investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash.

"Thankyou for your information (sorry I don't kow your name as you haven't supplied it). Another name for the powered hang glider is a microlight or trike. I spoke with our General manager about the accident today. He went to the site to investigate. I also heard he was an experienced General Aviation pilot and endorsed in Aerobatics. The flying controls of a trike are reversed to a normal aircraft. We won't know the cause of the accident until a full investigation is done which will also involve a coroner's report. But there is speculation that the man may have momentarily used aeroplane control effects which may have been too late to correct."

Expert flyer, tourist die on joyflight

A VTERAN pilot and a female tourist died yesterday when their microlight plane crashed into bushland near Byron Bay just after take-off. Joe Scott, owner of the Skylimit microlight and hang gliding company, was setting off from Tyagarah airfield on a joyflight with a female passenger about 2pm when the weightshift microlight nosedived, only metres from the beach where it was to land. A close friend of Mr Scott's was flying just behind when he saw the microlight go out of control. Police said the pilot and passenger were dead by the time Mr Scott's friend landed and returned to the crash scene. Byron Bay police Insp David Larkin said it was too early to say what had triggered the crash. He said neither victim had been formally identified. Mr Scott was president of the Byron Bay Hang Gliding Club and an expert flyer with more than 20 years' experience, friends said. "He's probably the most experienced operator of microlights around and he's been flying for a very long time," club vice-president Eddie Gray said. "We're all devastated. We can't fathom how this has happened because these things (microlights) are so strong. They don't break. "It's so tragic. "He was our president and he had a family." Another close friend, Jimmy Britton, said he was supposed to head out on a flight with Mr Scott late yesterday and was preparing to meet him when he heard the news. "And I spoke to him today to see if we were still on for golf tomorrow, he was as good as gold," Mr Britton said. "He was a lovely bloke, a likeable rogue." Another club member, Neil Mersham, described Mr Scott as "a very, very good pilot".

Victorian man killed in ultra-light plane crash
A 39-year-old Werribee man has died in an ultra-light aircraft crash
in Clarkefield, north of Melbourne. The accident happened just before 8:00pm (AEDT) yesterday, in an
open paddock about three kilometres south of Sutherland Road. The coroner is investigating.

The aircraft was a new XTS912, fitted with a ballistic chute. The
chute was not fired. The aircraft was registered with the RAAaus, and
apparently they have it.

The crash occured at Laguna, south of Wollombi, in dense trees. It
took some time to find the wreck, and then further time to find the
pilot's body, which was approx 200m from the wreck. The crash occured
at 09:30 on Saturday morning the 21st of January. Flying conditions in
the area at the time were mild and would be considered excellent for
ulralight flying.

There were, apparently, two witnesses to the incident. They claim that
the aircraft spiralled down and the pilot jumped out. The aircraft
continued to spiral until it crashed.

Nothing much more has been generally released. At this time, we don't
know why the pilot left the aircraft, or why, if he was in trouble, he
did not use the chute. We do not know the primary cause of the incident.

Hopefully the RAAaus will release the results of their findings in due
course and these will be conclusive as to the cause.

The incident apparently made the national news that night and was
reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald the following Monday with a
large colour photograph.


HSV 7 news (Melbourne)	ABC 2 News (Melbourne)