From: "Chris Moore" <cmoore@apexus.com.au>
To: <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: Lancair 235 crash at Aldinga South Australia
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 17:31:47 +0930
Message-ID: <000601be8a3a$fd4757c0$c3f237cb@chris>
Importance: Normal
Disposition-Notification-To: "Chris Moore" <cmoore@apexus.com.au>
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In order to keep everyone informed about the risks of flying and help learn
from a tragic event I feel it may be important for other Lancair owners
builders and pilots to be informed of this Lancair 235 accident.  It is my
unfortunate task to report the following.

On Easter Thursday Rob Prideaux and John Bird arrived at the regional
airstrip of Aldinga located close to Adelaide in South Australia where they
refuelled and stayed overnight with another Lancair builder owner before
continuing on to the Easter Sport Aircraft Association airshow at Mangalore
near Melbourne.  The plane had been flown from an airstrip in Western
Australia near Perth. This trip  required two fuel stops before reaching
Aldinga. Total time in service of the airplane, which was fitted with a new
engine during construction, was just 38 hours.  After a car was heard to
pull up at Aldinga airstrip about 7am Good Friday morning the aircraft was
heard to start, taxi and take-off by a caretaker listening from one of the
airstrip buildings.  Just after takeoff and about 2.5 kilometres from the
airfield the plane engine was heard to stop and then restart and then stop
again by a local farmer.  The aircraft then plunged to the ground amongst
trees killing both occupants and totally destroying the airframe.
It is now almost certain that this airplane had almost all of its fuel
siphoned from the two wing tanks while it remained overnight at the
airfield.  A police investigation is underway to try to find who was
responsible for milking the airplane.  It has been found that using avgas in
earlier model modified motor vehicles is popular with certain elements of
the community and milking of aeroplanes for supplies is not uncommon.
Since the accident the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation has commenced to
sift through the wreckage but their report will be some months before
release.
It would appear that somehow two experienced pilots both failed to check the
contents of the fuel tanks, both on the two very visible gauges near the
throttle and by dipping the tanks, and then when the engine stopped, they
also failed to get the nose down and glide to a safe landing in an area that
had plenty of open fields. The Lancair pilot and builder with whom they
stayed overnight with had a long discussion with them about the climb out
speed they used which was 80 to 85 knots where he maintains that it should
be around 120 knots when there are no obstacles to clear.  This may have
been a contributing factor resulting in the aircraft stalling while the
pilots attention was inside the cockpit trying to restart.  The aircraft was
fitted with an electric MT constant speed 3 blade propeller which could
cause some extra drag presuming it was in the full fine position when the
engine failed.
My business partner and I were in the middle of painting our Lancair when we
heard this aircraft was arriving on Easter Thursday so we took the
opportunity of driving to Aldinga and meeting the owner builder, and
Co-pilot. The aircraft had a nice appearance and a lot of work had gone into
the finish. It appeared to be a well built and equipped airplane.
We may never know the complete story, our sympathy goes to the families of
the two pilots who died and hopefully we will all learn a little from this
unfortunate, and would appear preventable, accident.

Chris Moore

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