Latest news with #SkyAces
7NEWS
21-07-2025
- Health
- 7NEWS
7NEWS Spotlight: How Glenn Collins is getting back on his feet after Avalon Airshow crash
Glenn Collin's survival was nothing short of miraculous. The Sky Aces aerobatic pilot was flying at 300km an hour when he crashed at the Avalon International Airshow in March. With the support of his devoted wife, Tracey, and his loving family, Glenn is pushing the boundaries of his physiotherapy to get back on his feet.. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cockpit footage of Avalon Airshow crash And it won't be too long before he and Tracey are heading back home to the Hunter Valley. However, their life will look different on their return with the pilot's spinal injury meaning there will be multiple lifestyle changes. These include renovating their house for accessibility. 'You need to allow for your worst days and my worst days might be that I'm not on my feet, so we need to make the house suitable for that,' Glenn acknowledges. Despite the ordeal, Glenn remains as positive as he can be and realised it could have been much worse. 'I'm one of the very, very lucky ones where my spinal injury is low, so I will hopefully be able to walk again,' he said. 'Many people don't.' For Glenn and Tracey, there are so many people who they want to thank. Among those are the pyro crew - Phil, Jay, Brooke, and Todd - whose rapid response in getting Glenn out of the wreckage to be treated by paramedics was critical. 'They are very much heroes. They saved my life,' he said. A long list of healthcare practitioners also contributed to keeping him alive and then helping with his recovery. From paramedics, to doctors, nurses and numerous other hospital staff; dozens and dozens of caring individuals helped put Glenn back together. Tracey feels particularly strongly about the regular Australians who donate blood. 'Glenn was revived using bloods and fluids, which saved his life,' she said. So, on the anniversary of Glenn's fateful flight, their whole family will donate blood themselves to mark the occasion. It's obvious that there's a deeply emotional connection between Paul Bennet and his crew member Glenn. After all, Paul is the one who straight away, initiated the GoFundMe page for the Collins family. Glenn recognises how valuable this will be in his getting him back walking - and maybe even back in the sky! 'It's amazing what he's done there, looked after me. And it'll also pass on through the family,'
7NEWS
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
7NEWS Spotlight: Cockpit footage of the Avalon Airshow crash that left pilot seriously injured
When Sky Aces aerobatic pilot Glenn Collins crashed at the Avalon International Airshow in March, everyone feared the worst. The four-time champion was flying at 300km an hour, making the force of the impact so horrific that it looked impossible to survive. Within seconds, the atmosphere changed at the country's biggest airshow. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cockpit footage of Avalon Airshow crash The excitement of the crowd, and the noisy roar of the planes, was gone. Suddenly, the mood was one of shock and reverence. Thousands of people stood still, in silence, with their eyes fixed on the wreckage of Glenn's Pitts Special. Everyone was hoping for a miracle, no one dared to believe it would friend, Angela Stevenson, was in the commentary box, utterly devastated by what she'd just witnessed. Believing there was no way he could have survived, Angela buried her grief. She steeled herself to turn on her microphone and make the necessary emergency announcements to the crowd. Just as she'd finished, Angela was told there was one more message to deliver. The incredible news, Glenn Collins was alive. Tonight on Sunday, for the first time, we'll reveal the full story of what happened that day. With permission from Glenn Collins and Sky Aces leader Paul Bennet, we take you inside the cockpits of all four planes, to experience exactly what they did, as the tragedy unfolded. Moment by moment, it's confronting and raw. To excel at formation aerobatics requires precision skills, honed over years of practice. Every time they go up, the pilots hold each other's lives in their hands. This story takes you inside that world, to understand what it takes to be right up there, with the best in the country. It demands a certain mindset, and that mindset is what makes Glenn Collins so extraordinary. Doctors agree his survival is a miracle. He now faces a long recovery and Glenn's family has set up a fundraiser to help cover his medical expenses. As you'll see tonight, making it out of that wreckage alive was the first of many. His story is the kind that will stay with you, for a long time. It's high-octane and some moments are difficult to watch. But in the next heartbeat, there are heroes. It's also an incredible love story. Even on the ground, Glenn's journey is full of twists and turns. It's inspiring and deeply moving. A wild ride that, on this rare occasion, ends in triumph. But you'll notice Glenn's courage takes many forms.
7NEWS
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
7NEWS Spotlight: Avalon Airshow pilot's miracle story of survival
It was the moment that stunned a 40,0000-strong crowd. Veteran stunt pilot Glenn Collins was performing a manoeuvre he had flown hundreds of times before – a triple avalanche – when something went catastrophically wrong. His plane slamming into the ground at nearly 300km/hr. Emergency crews raced in and somehow against all odds, he survived. On assignment for 7NEWS Spotligh t, this Sunday at 8.20pm on Seven and 7plus 7NEWS reporter Kristy Mayr takes us inside the cockpit, with never-before-seen GoPro footage capturing every heart-stopping second, and the extraordinary rescue that followed. Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS Spotlight, Glenn recalls the crash that nearly claimed his life and his extraordinary journey back from the brink. 'I should have realised I didn't have enough altitude ... I should have known', Glenn said. We also hear from Glenn's wife Tracey Collins, his fellow Sky Aces, and the pyro team who raced to pull him from the wreckage, as fuel gushed into the cockpit. 'We need to get him out before it bursts into flames,' said Phil Ferguson, one of the first responders. 'This is not just a survival story. It's a story of grit, love and the razor-thin line between life and death. Watching the footage from inside the cockpit reveals just how terrifying it was for him to confront his fate,' Mayr said.
7NEWS
09-07-2025
- General
- 7NEWS
Cockpit GoPro camera crucial as investigators probe Australian International Airshow accident
A tiny camera could hold clues to what happened when a pilot was seriously injured during an air show manoeuvre gone wrong. In a preliminary report into the crash released on Wednesday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said video footage of the accident from an onboard GoPro camera was aiding its investigation. The single-seat Pitts S1‑11X aircraft was performing a series of daring loops and aerobatic tricks known as a 'triple avalanche' alongside three other planes at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport in Victoria in March when it crashed. The ATSB has released a preliminary report into a crash at Avalon Airport. The plane crashed west of the runway, opposite public viewing areas and grandstands, creating a 95m ground scar and debris trail before coming to rest upright. It hit a grassy area where multiple live pyrotechnics had been set up to be detonated later as part of the show. The pilot, part of the Sky Aces display team, was seriously injured but was provided first aid before being transported by helicopter to hospital. Pyrotechnicians working nearby were the first to arrive at the wreckage, helping the pilot out of the aircraft despite difficulties opening the cockpit canopy. First responders reported smelling fuel and observing it leaking from the aircraft, the bureau said. Investigators later transported the aircraft wreckage to a secure hangar at the airport and found 'no evidence of any control or airframe issues before the accident'. Airframe refers to the mechanical structure of the plane. Evidence gathered as part of the investigation included footage from a forward‑facing GoPro camera from the cockpit that showed the pilot was unable to stop the rapid rate of descent before the plane hit the ground. It also showed he had started performing the loops some 30 metres above ground, reaching a peak height of 210-250m, where he started his 'snap rolls'. The report said the pilot began the aerobatic manoeuvres at a higher altitude in previous training flights. Photos from the preliminary report show the orange aircraft substantially mangled. Glenn Collins, an experienced pilot from stunt flight company Paul Bennet Airshows, said he sustained spinal damage in the accident and would require multiple surgeries. fundraiser has been set up to help cover Collins' medical expenses.
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- News.com.au
Airshow crash investigation reveals pilot crashed among pyrotechnics
A stunt pilot who crashed during the Avalon Airshow waited about 10 minutes for emergency crews to reach him after his plane landed in a pyrotechnics zone filled with fuel boxes. A preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation into the incident said the crash site, designated for a planned 'wall of fire' display, complicated rescue efforts due to safety risks, delaying paramedics and fire crews. Pilot Glenn Collins, part of the Sky Aces aerobatic team, was seriously injured when his Pitts aircraft slammed into the ground in front of airshow crowds in March, leaving a 95m 'ground scar'. The ATSB report, which outlines early facts but no final conclusions, noted the first ambulance arrived at 5.31pm, about 10 minutes after the crash. Lead investigator Angus Baxter said pyrotechnicians were the first on the scene following the crash. 'As pyrotechnicians were attending to the pilot, they were unable to safely guide the aviation rescue firefighting service through the pyrotechnicians' area, which increased their response times,' he said. GoPro footage recovered from the cockpit is playing a key role in the investigation. It revealed Mr Collins appeared to begin snap rolls for a 'triple avalanche' manoeuvre lower than in previous training flights, between 700 and 800 feet instead of the usual 1000, before the aircraft failed to recover and hit the ground. Mr Baxter said there was no evidence of any defects in the plane before takeoff. 'We can determine any of the key elements of the flight path, such as the position and the nose attitude of the aircraft throughout the manoeuvre,' he said. 'We examined the wreckage and we found no evidence of pre-impact defects and the flight controls were all intact and connected. 'We've also identified the flight instruments and have recovered those as part of the on-site investigation, and we will be attempting to download any data that might be on those.' The investigation is ongoing, which will include a review of the airshow's emergency response plan, with a final report expected later this year. Mr Collins, who was an experienced member of Paul Bennet airshow's aerobatics team, sustained significant injuries in the crash, spending five weeks in hospital before being released to recover closer to home. 'Most of my general injuries are healing well, but I do have spinal damage,' he said in May. 'While I can move my legs – which I'm incredibly grateful for – I don't yet have full feeling in my legs or waist, 'Ongoing rehabilitation will be key, and I'm giving it my all.'
