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| Date: | Sunday 8 October 2023 |
| Time: | 16:12 |
| Type: |  Cessna 172N Skyhawk |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | VH-RSB |
| MSN: | 17273719 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1980 |
| Engine model: | Textron Lycoming O-320 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Merriton, SA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Merriton, SA (private) |
| Kangaroo Island, SA | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On the afternoon of 8 October 2023, a Cessna 172N, registered VH-RSB, took off from private property near Merriton, South Australia for a private flight with the pilot and one passenger on board.
At about 1612, when the aircraft arrived back at the property and was heading west in line with a pre-prepared runway, it struck a single‑wire aerial powerline. The aircraft collided with terrain and an intense fuel-fed fire broke out.
Rescuers removed the pilot and passenger from the wreckage, sustaining non‑life‑threatening burns as a result. The passenger had been fatally injured and the pilot later succumbed to injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.
The pilot likely lost awareness of and did not see the powerline running across the approach path near the runway’s eastern threshold during approach to land.
The pilot was the owner of the aircraft and the property where it landed. The 700 m runway had been positioned in a paddock such that one end was near an oblique powerline. Positioning the end of the runway close to the powerline increased the risk of a wirestrike. Landing to that end of the runway meant that the powerline was in the path of the approaching aircraft unless aiming to land about halfway down the runway (which was well within the landing distance required for the aircraft).
Powerlines, especially single wires, are difficult to see from the air. The powerline was not marked in a manner sufficient to enhance visibility of the powerline to pilots using the runway, nor was there a requirement to do so. The powerline had been marked previously near the pole adjacent to the runway, however this was to alert pilots flying along it to the presence of another powerline crossing above or below, rather than when on approach to the runway.
Further, when passing a powerline that has been seen, its oblique orientation relative to the runway can also increase the chance of a wirestrike from a pilot misjudging the point where the aircraft would be in conflict with the wire.
Contributing factors
- The pilot likely lost awareness of and did not see the aerial powerline during approach to land.
- The runway was positioned near an oblique powerline, and the powerline was not marked in a manner sufficient to enhance visibility of the wire to pilots using the runway.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.nationaltribune.com.au/plane-crash-at-merriton/
https://www.9news.com.au/videos/national/light-plane-crashes-in-south-australia/clnh719da008c0krt7plg5gu5
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-08/sa-merriton-light-plane-crash/102949430
https://www.police.sa.gov.au/sa-police-news-assets/front-page-news/plane-crash-at-merriton
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-09/two-men-killed-in-light-plane-crash-at-merriton/102950490
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2023/report/ao-2023-046
https://www.casa.gov.au/search-centre/aircraft-register?search_api_fulltext=RSB
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/36613_1506039055.jpg (photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 23 November 1989 | VH-RSB | 0 | Essendon Airport, Melbourne, VIC | |
sub |
Location
Images:
Photo: ATSB
Media:
DEVELOPING: A light plane with two men onboard has crashed and caught fire at Merriton near Crystal Brook. Federal transport safety investigators will travel to the crash site to examine and recover the Cessna aircraft. 7NEWS Adelaide at 6pm | https://t.co/8ftPfGh39Y #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/RVrk4vS4og
— 7NEWS Adelaide (@7NewsAdelaide) October 8, 2023
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Oct-2023 07:03 | hmmptwizzle | Added |
| 08-Oct-2023 09:17 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 08-Oct-2023 10:07 | hmmptwizzle | Updated |
| 09-Oct-2023 05:39 | gerard57 | Updated |
| 09-Oct-2023 06:09 | onetrack | Updated |
| 09-Oct-2023 07:57 | harro | Updated |
| 09-Oct-2023 11:17 | RobertMB | Updated |
| 10-Oct-2023 12:12 | harro | Updated |
| 23-May-2024 07:21 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report] |
| 27-May-2024 17:31 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative, Category, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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