Latest news with #Cessna150
News.com.au
10-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Crash that killed young pilot caused by low-speed stall in gusty winds: ATSB
A fatal stall just 150 feet above the ground claimed the life of a young Victorian pilot last year, with investigators now confirming wind gusts and low airspeed left him no chance to recover. The tragic incident occurred on the morning of October 22, 2024, as Jack Miller, 20, attempted a private flight from Bacchus Marsh Aerodrome to Lethbridge in Victoria. A new Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has found that Mr Miller was flying a Cessna 150 when the aircraft stalled shortly after takeoff in strong, gusty winds at Bacchus Marsh, northwest of Melbourne, fatally injuring the young pilot. According to the ATSB final report released on Thursday, Mr Miller initially rejected a first takeoff attempt from runway 27 and broadcast this over the common traffic advisory frequency but gave no reason for the decision. Shortly afterwards, he returned to the end of the same runway and initiated a second takeoff. After becoming airborne, the aircraft climbed to about 150 feet before pitching steeply nose-up. Witnesses then saw the nose and left wing drop as the aircraft entered a vertical descent and crashed into a paddock beside the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and Mr Miller, who was the sole occupant, died at the scene. The investigation did not find any mechanical issues with the aircraft or evidence of pilot incapacitation. Instead, the ATSB concluded the Cessna was likely too slow on takeoff for the prevailing wind conditions, and control inputs to counteract the crosswind probably increased the angle of attack on the left wing. 'These factors, combined with the wind conditions, increased the risk of a quick and unrecoverable stall,' ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said. 'The stall occurred too close to the ground for the aircraft to be recovered from.' Mr Mitchell said while aerodynamic stalls could happen at any altitude or airspeed, they were most hazardous during takeoff and landing. 'When gusting conditions are present, pilots should consider waiting for more benign conditions,' he said. 'Guidance advises pilots to conduct their own testing in progressively higher winds to determine both their own capability and that of the aircraft. 'If pilots judge weather to be suitable, they should consider climbing out at a higher airspeed to provide a buffer above their aircraft's stall speed for detection and correction of an impending stall.' The report highlighted that Mr Miller had more than 180 hours of flight experience, including just less than four hours in the Cessna 150, and had recently joined the Bacchus Marsh Aero Club. Weather on the day was estimated to include winds of 10 knots gusting up to 30 knots, with strong crosswind components likely present at takeoff. The ATSB said the accident underscored the importance of maintaining adequate airspeed margins and being mindful of crosswind effects during takeoff, especially in turbulent conditions. After the crash last year, Mr Miller's devastated sister, Nicole Miller, told 7News her brother had always dreamt of becoming a pilot, describing him as her 'hero'. He earnt his pilot's licence earlier in 2024, just months before the crash. '(He was) always watching all the old war movies with the planes that would take off, he would soak up everything that he saw,' Ms Miller said. She said her brother was a 'caring, kind-hearted' young man who was just shy of his 21st birthday. 'Whatever happened doesn't change the outcome at the end of the day,' she said. 'We still don't have him, and nothing will ever fix the place he had in our lives.'
Perth Now
10-07-2025
- General
- Perth Now
Reason for young pilot's death revealed
A fatal stall just 150 feet above the ground claimed the life of a young Victorian pilot last year, with investigators now confirming wind gusts and low airspeed left him no chance to recover. The tragic incident occurred on the morning of October 22, 2024, as Jack Miller, 20, attempted a private flight from Bacchus Marsh Aerodrome to Lethbridge in Victoria. A new Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation has found that Mr Miller was flying a Cessna 150 when the aircraft stalled shortly after takeoff in strong, gusty winds at Bacchus Marsh, northwest of Melbourne, fatally injuring the young pilot. Jack Miller with his grandmother. Credit: Supplied According to the ATSB final report released on Thursday, Mr Miller initially rejected a first takeoff attempt from runway 27 and broadcast this over the common traffic advisory frequency but gave no reason for the decision. Shortly afterwards, he returned to the end of the same runway and initiated a second takeoff. After becoming airborne, the aircraft climbed to about 150 feet before pitching steeply nose-up. Witnesses then saw the nose and left wing drop as the aircraft entered a vertical descent and crashed into a paddock beside the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed on impact and Mr Miller, who was the sole occupant, died at the scene. The aircraft climbed to about 150 feet before crashing into a paddock. ATSB Credit: News Corp Australia The investigation did not find any mechanical issues with the aircraft or evidence of pilot incapacitation. Instead, the ATSB concluded the Cessna was likely too slow on takeoff for the prevailing wind conditions, and control inputs to counteract the crosswind probably increased the angle of attack on the left wing. 'These factors, combined with the wind conditions, increased the risk of a quick and unrecoverable stall,' ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said. 'The stall occurred too close to the ground for the aircraft to be recovered from.' The investigation did not find any mechanical issues with the aircraft. ATSB Credit: Supplied Mr Mitchell said while aerodynamic stalls could happen at any altitude or airspeed, they were most hazardous during takeoff and landing. 'When gusting conditions are present, pilots should consider waiting for more benign conditions,' he said. 'Guidance advises pilots to conduct their own testing in progressively higher winds to determine both their own capability and that of the aircraft. 'If pilots judge weather to be suitable, they should consider climbing out at a higher airspeed to provide a buffer above their aircraft's stall speed for detection and correction of an impending stall.' The report highlighted that Mr Miller had more than 180 hours of flight experience, including just less than four hours in the Cessna 150, and had recently joined the Bacchus Marsh Aero Club. Weather on the day was estimated to include winds of 10 knots gusting up to 30 knots, with strong crosswind components likely present at takeoff. The ATSB said the accident underscored the importance of maintaining adequate airspeed margins and being mindful of crosswind effects during takeoff, especially in turbulent conditions. The Cessna 150 stalled shortly after takeoff in strong, gusty winds. Bacchus Marsh Aero Club Credit: News Corp Australia After the crash last year, Mr Miller's devastated sister, Nicole Miller, told 7News her brother had always dreamt of becoming a pilot, describing him as her 'hero'. He earnt his pilot's licence earlier in 2024, just months before the crash. '(He was) always watching all the old war movies with the planes that would take off, he would soak up everything that he saw,' Ms Miller said. She said her brother was a 'caring, kind-hearted' young man who was just shy of his 21st birthday. 'Whatever happened doesn't change the outcome at the end of the day,' she said. 'We still don't have him, and nothing will ever fix the place he had in our lives.'
Fox News
03-07-2025
- General
- Fox News
SEE IT: Small plane flips over in South Carolina backyard after pilot's deliberate maneuver
Home surveillance footage captured the startling moment a single-engine Cessna 150 flipped over in a backyard in South Carolina. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to Fox News Digital that the small aircraft overturned during a rough landing in a grassy yard in Pelzer, South Carolina, around 9 a.m. Sunday, June 29. Footage, captured on Vicki Coker's Nest surveillance camera, showed the aircraft tumbling through a grassy yard. Speaking to WYFF 4, the pilot said he was aiming to land on a grass strip along Williams Road when he came in too fast. As the plane hit a bump in the uneven ground, it suddenly lifted back into the air. In a split-second decision, he chose to deliberately flip the aircraft, believing it was the only way to prevent further damage. The pilot survived the flip, the FAA said. The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed to Fox News Digital that it is investigating the weekend accident. "There was an incident on Sunday in which a Cessna 150 airplane flipped over after landing on a grass strip," the agency said in a statement. "The extent of the damage to the airplane has not yet been determined. As damage is substantial, it will be classified as an accident, and the NTSB will open an investigation."
USA Today
02-07-2025
- General
- USA Today
Video shows plane flip over in yard during rough landing
Surveillance video shows the moment a single-engine plane flipped over in a backyard in South Carolina. The plane, a Cessna 150, turned over onto its top during the turbulent landing in a grassy yard on June 29 around 9:00 a.m., Fox Carolina and WYFF reported. The incident occurred in Pelzer, a town about 16 miles from Greenville. In an interview with WYFF, the pilot said a bump in the grass caused the small, fast-moving aircraft to go into the air, adding that he flipped it to prevent additional damage. "I made the decision to just plant it, slow it down as slow as I could, and right before the treeline, put it on its top," he stated. Watch the rough landing below Plane Crash: 6 dead after plane crashes into Ohio backyard Officials have opened an investigation According to Fox Carolina, the plane departed from an airport in the city of Pickens. The pilot, who was the only occupant on the plane, survived and did not suffer from severe injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board told the news station in a statement that the incident is "classified as an accident and the NTSB will open an investigation.' USA TODAY reached out to the South Greenville Fire District for more information. Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
Irish Examiner
21-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Clodagh Finn: The ‘prowling pilot' who became Ireland's first female flight instructor
When I was in my early 20s, I wanted to grow up to be like Dr Daphne Pochin Mould. She was, among other things, a geologist, a photographer, a writer, a 'prowling pilot' and Ireland's first female flight instructor who, it was said, regularly took her hands off the controls to lean out the window and take aerial shots of the landscape below. For a long time, I thought that story apocryphal but to my great delight I see it verified in a spirit-enriching piece by the late Matt Murphy in Sherkin Comment, a Sherkin Island Marine Station publication. Here's the thrilling proof from the mouth of one of her students Simon O'Flynn: 'To take photographs… she would open her side window of the Cessna 150 single-engine plane and with two hands on her camera shoot away.' Simon, for his part, sat beside her white-knuckled, holding his breath. Now, as a much older woman, I still aspire to be like Dr Daphne, as I like to call her, and testimony such as that just sharpens the desire. What I wouldn't give to have accompanied her on one of those unnerving flights. In a sense, though, we can join her in the skies because she left behind an immense body of writing (25 books), which includes this bird's eye vision of the country: 'If anyone asked me to show them Ireland in all her beauty, colour, variety, I'd take them flying in a light plane. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading Islands and cliffs, strands and mountains, lakes, rivers, canals, ancient monuments and modern developments, ring fort and turf-burning power station, all are there in an ever changing pattern of colour and form. In another piece, she described flying over Killarney, leaving its wild jungle of arbutus, rhododendron and oak behind as the high mountains of the MacGillycuddy Reeks, boiling and smoking with rain clouds and swirling mists, came into view. It is not surprising to find that Dr Daphne Desiree Charlotte Pochin Mould, to give her her full name, always wanted to write: 'I remember composing stories and poems before I learned to write, and dictating them to members of the family who wrote them down for me. "None of these early efforts, which so far as I remember were often about fantastic animals have, fortunately for me, survived!' What a shame for us, though, as I would love to have read the words of the very young girl who once tried to climb on to the famous prehistoric structure at Stonehenge in Wiltshire only to be immediately hauled off by an irate official. She was clearly spirited and curious from the off. And a bit different. Born in Salsbury in November 1920, eyesight difficulties meant she was home-schooled by an aunt who turned to Homer's ancient Greek epic, The Odyssey, when her young charge was less than impressed by the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. She was brought up an Anglican but would later abandon it, thinking that religion and her quest for truth were incompatible. She wrote: Science for me meant the discovery of truth, reality, the nature of being, finding out what things were, what life was about. As a teenager, she went into the country to identify plants, trees and birds and to examine rocks, fossils and the nearby chalk pits. When she learned to drive, at 17, she borrowed a car and went further afield into Scotland which, with its rivers, glens and mountains, tempted her to move there in the late 1930s. She enrolled in Edinburgh University and began her degree 'with the wail of sirens and the crackle of machine gun fire as the first air raids took place on the Forth Bridge', as she later recalled. She graduated with a first-class honours in geology and later got a research fellowship to study a previously unmapped stretch of land – 100 square miles of it – beside Loch Ness. Her study earned her a PhD in 1946 and crystallised her plan for the future. She wanted to write 'something Highlandy' so moved to a dilapidated house in Fort Augustus. (It was 'also on Lough Ness but I never saw the Monster,' she wrote.) A neighbour Sandy Grant taught her to scythe, make hay and harness a horse to a cart. She also learned how to use a two-wheeled walking tractor and ploughed the three-acre paddock she had worked to reclaim. The same neighbour was a Catholic who attended mass at the nearby Benedictine monastery, an incidental fact that would later have a profound effect on Daphne. While writing a book on the Iona of St Columba, she undertook research which, she said, was designed to 'show up' the saints and the Church for what she thought they really were. Instead, while using the library kindly offered by Fr Augustine at the monastery, she discovered St Thomas Aquinas and a Catholic philosophy that combined reason and religion. 'After a year of struggle and argument', she was received into the Catholic Church in 1950. Life in Ireland Her interest in saints brought her to Ireland. She moved to Galway in 1951 with her parents and later to Aherla in Cork. She spent the rest of her life here and became so immersed in Irish culture that she said she 'passed readily enough for a born Irishwoman!' any time she returned to the UK. That was true even by 1957 when she wrote Irish Pilgrimage which opens with this evocative passage: 'There is a magic in the road, in the very fact of travel, in the track which leads out to the islands. Many indeed seek to travel for the sheer delight of it, for the changing scene and the sense that the delectable mountains are always beyond the next bend or the next city…' The dust jacket offers this charming vignette: 'Miss Mould… is in love with Ireland, with its antiquities, its traditions, its culture, and she imparts her devotion to the reader. She has not only lived with the people; she has joined them in their faith and gone on pilgrimages with them, the length and breadth of the country. She has climbed mountains in the predawn and rowed out to holy islands.' That love was reciprocated. Trawl the archives and you'll find several tributes to this true Renaissance woman who mastered several disciplines and broke new ground by learning to fly in the 1960s. She became Ireland's first female flight instructor and she was also a pioneer of aerial archaeology, recording and sometimes discovering archaeological features from the air. In the 1980s, the Cork Archaeological Survey commissioned her to take photographs for the five-volume series The archaeological inventory of County Cork (1992–2009). Her collection is now held by the Muckross House Trustees in Killarney. It's one that will, in time, come to be considered in the same way as the Lawrence Photography Collection, according to her friend Matt Murphy. Daphne Pochin Mould, a true Renaissance woman who instilled a sense of wonder. Picture: Richard Mills In his beautiful article, he wrote about her difficult final years when, due to failing health, she moved from guest house to hotel to nursing home. She felt like a 'caged lioness', he said, but she continued to write despite the arthritis in her hands and the lack of an archive. Her memory remained razor-sharp. Both Daphne and Matt are gone now. Matt Murphy, founder of the Sherkin Island Marine Research Station and passionate environmentalist, died earlier this year but, between them, they leave behind an invaluable legacy. Let's make sure we preserve it to inspire a new generation and instill a much-needed sense of wonder in this battered but still-beautiful world. Read More Clodagh Finn: How a true pioneer emerged from the shadows
