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Close calls

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Tropical chill

This is a story of ice. Not ice you put in a drink. Not ice that forms on an aircraft, but ice that can...

Conspiracy theory

A pilot learns a valuable lesson in taking responsibility and control.

Head on a swivel

An experienced airline transport pilot remembers 2 close calls early in his career that shaped his approach to safety. Back in 2009 I was flying...

Bogged down in assumptions

A quick glance suggested everything would be okay – this was an expectations-driven illusion. It was a beautiful winter's day in western Queensland, warm and...

Ignore the sirens

Fixating on the paddock meant I was completely blind to the actual ALA I was looking for.

One last look

Under pressure to rush, this pilot came close to danger.

Nearly made the news

When faced with ambiguous information, this pilot swallowed pride and made the safe decision. How much fuel do we have? I always like to know...

One wrong turn

A recreational pilot's first flight after learning the basics of navigation unravels into an embarrassment that could have been a disaster.

Earth, wind and water

The elements humble a newly qualified pilot. I was a freshly minted CPL with the world at my feet, or so I thought. After arriving in...

Planning for remote possibilities

The tiniest change of heading took this pilot out of his comfort zone. As a low-hours VFR-only recreational pilot who is super safety conscious, I...

I didn’t plan on that

Sticking to a rigid schedule when circumstances have changed is the opposite of safe flight planning. I was building hours after my PPL and was...

The still of the night

On a very dark night, not understanding an engine's operating characteristics almost led to disaster. I am a flight instructor for a flying club located...
Illustration from a cockpit approaching a runway to land. While another plane is directly in front.

Aluminium overcast

A low-hours student keeps their cool despite a frightening incident that was not their fault. Sometimes it's interesting to look at how you handle sudden...
Plane flying with ice particles overlay

The ice bucket challenge

This crew had to battle extremely bad weather including severe icing before making a safe landing. I worked for a small regional airline that operated...
An unsealed runway surrounded by bushland. A blue sky with scattered above.

Dog legs and goat tracks

By Christopher Kelman He was heading straight for disaster with 2 passengers on board, when something clicked in. How one pilot learnt his limitations and...
Illustration of sky diver who has just jumped out of a small red aircraft

Lurching towards disaster

A jump pilot becomes acquainted with the particular hazards of this sport in a story that reflects standards at the time it took place. We needed...
Photo of small red and white aircraft flying with land and water in the background

A tumble of numbers

Subtle psychological pressures and an unintentional signal almost killed this experienced flier in the first hours of their career. Whichever way you look at it,...
Montage of several images overlayed to create an abstract image. Image includes a small aircraft, an aerial view of a desert landscape and some swiss cheese.

Alice, through the looking glass

A private pilot reflects on an early flight and how they would do things differently now. I was flying from Canberra to Alice Springs in...
Image of a glider.

Decision or design

A gliding incident was the culmination of factors, including ergonomics, maintenance and pilot action. I had over 250 hours of gliding, including an infrequent 12...
Photo from above showing blanket of cloud cover

Stuck on top

Up there, wishing you were down here – an often-told story but chilling every time. During the hour-building phase of my commercial pilot licence training,...
Illustration of Piper Saratoga flying over a dark landscape with a small light visible on the ground.

Night fright

By Alan Bradshaw The darkness of regional Australia at night proves to be more than a match for a city slicker’s night VFR rating. My lifelong...
image: Adobe Stock | Andy

Too close for comfort

Only luck and a sliver of time prevent a mid-air collision. Some years ago, I was involved in an incident that nearly resulted in a mid-air collision. It happened in the vicinity of the Archerfield Southern Training Area during a training session that I was conducting in a Cessna 172.
low clouds and rain above the ocean.

What did I think I was doing?

One of my first instructors told me never to fly on minimums. 'It's not bad weather, but marginal weather that kills you,' the instructor said. Pilots don't fly in bad weather. I also thought that years of experience could compensate, but nothing can overrule sticking to a bad decision.

Get-there-it is

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By a Flight Safety Australia reader After having recently achieved my private pilot’s licence, I decided to take up an offer from a friend to...

Hot and high

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By a Flight Safety Australia reader As a fresh PPL pilot, I was always thrilled when I got to navigate across the state all by...
Aircraft parked at an airfield. Rear view of a plane with a propeller on a sunset background.

Assumed risk

A former boss once warned me that 'an assumption is the basis of a screw-up'. While I've often repeated that maxim to others, it took 5 white-knuckle minutes to teach myself the wisdom of those words.
Abstract image of aircraft flying in the sky and a seatbelt

Belting along

In this unexpected and scary incident, the pilot reaches for something familiar to use in an unusual way. I was returning from Condobolin to Moorabbin in a Cessna 182RG with 2 passengers. The weather forecast had been satisfactory and I had filed and flown a VFR plan without any difficulties.
abstract image of a small aircraft with a translucent pattern of water overlaying it.

Water, water everywhere

Recent la Niña rainfall has amplified a longstanding aviation hazard, as Steve Blackie discovered We have all been told from our very first flight, how...
small aircraft flying in blue sky

When EFATO calls

Recreational pilot Luke Bayly discovers the reasons for the seemingly endless drills of his initial training We all believe that when the time comes, we...
Aircraft flying is cloudy sky

No getting over it

An encounter with lenticular cloud literally shook this pilot out of complacency We were on our way back from Natfly, the annual fly-in for recreational...
Small aircraft taking off.

Trim set mindset

Pressure drove this pilot towards an error, discipline allowed for a recovery By Lawrence Moloney Recently I set out to conduct a local flight in my...
Aircraft flying over land in the sky

Fear for lunch

A newly minted rating, a blandly confident low-hours pilot, time pressure and a desire to impress. What could possibly go wrong? By a Flight Safety...
aircraft flying over ocean

Taking the low road

A pilot flying at an incorrect level in a busy lane making garbled radio calls creates a wake of confusion and danger Recently I embarked...
aircraft in a paddock with a cloudy stormy sky

Down to the wire

Flying alone, a recreational pilot falls prey to confirmation bias, and ends up lucky to tell the tale Back in mid-2017, some friends and I...
Image: pilot instructor in a light aircraft in the sky

Andante, andante

Purely by accident, an instructor learns that taking your time can be the key to survival  By Douglas Robertson Long ago and far away I was...
image of a pilot hang-glider

More than enough excitement

This pilot was stunned by an inadvertent loop in a hang-glider The air was just different one week at a Forbes hang-gliding competition a few...
Illustration of a plane flying toward a tightening vice.

A tightening vice

Trapped between walls of cloud, this pilot was racing against sunset to find a safe landing. It is sobering to reflect on a flight that...
Small aircraft flying in storm clouds with lightning

They say it never strikes twice

This newly minted instructor was jolted out of his complacency by an unexpected thunderstorm There is a difference between foolishness and being foolish. On this...
Lansdcape with grey clouds and a hut nestled within the grass

Twisting the blade

If something can go wrong, it will – so prepare for it It was – and is – a rare fault, but it was almost...
Small plane flying in a cloudy sky

Positioning for a near miss

Don’t get slack about your radio calls, as this pilot did I was flying a white low-wing aircraft up the east coast. It was early...
Image of blue sky with storm clouds forming

Yes? Actually, no

When the weather turned quickly, this pilot was scud running I restarted private flying for fun in the mid-2010s, after having flown for a while...

Without ever leaving the ground

A pilot having a bad day decides it is better to cut his losses after nearly cutting himself I have always read with interest the...
night view of aircraft cockpit with duck feathers outside

Ducking and diving

After an engine is destroyed during a night take-off, a corporate jet struggles to stay airborne By Andrew McDougall We started the take-off roll at approximately...
Cessna aircraft

Bowled out by a bouncer

A series of dubious decisions led to a frightening crash landing From a safe distance I surveyed the depressing scene – the Cessna 182 crippled...
Cessna 172

It’s a health hazard

This pilot pushed on as the visibility gradually reduced – until he was flying blind By Andrew Clarke My close call occurred in late 2006. At...
Cessna 172 taking off at Bathurst Airport. | © Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Good as new?

Friday flashback: a Close call from Flight Safety Australia, January-February 2008 By Max Fenton It was a clear and cold July winter morning as I ruefully...

Maiden flight

This pilot had the terrifying experience of another paraglider heading directly at them Anonymous It took me a little longer than I had anticipated to...

The day I caught the flying bug

By Michelle O’Hare I have been flying for a few years now; however, it wasn’t until I experienced a partial engine failure in 2019 that...

Positive climb

By a Flight Safety Australia reader I had quite a few missed approaches in my career but only one that came as a total surprise,...
Beechcraft Baron G58

Always trust your instinct

Would you speak up if something on the aircraft just didn’t feel right? By Diana Stratfold As a part of the IF rating we are taught...

Fright VFR

Pressing on and on as the sky gets very dark—what could possibly go wrong? By Greg Ackman We had departed Kalgoorlie with 20 minutes margin to...
Image of storm clouds

Clouded thinking

This pilot reflects on how a flight drifted close to danger, despite the best of intentions This close call wasn’t too long ago, but...

Expect the unexpected

This senior instructor learns a valuable lesson after not actually checking what he was doing. It was the first flight of the day and I...

Down and dirty

The habit of regularly scanning the engine instruments was the key factor in this pilot’s survival By Craig Commens It was the mid-80s and I was...
road obscured by low clouds

Not my time to die

Correct decision-making can be difficult when the pressure is on. When was the last time you told your chief pilot, ’No‘? By Robert L Cassidy In...

The needle and (nearly) the damage done

By Gary Winstanley I was in the middle of my PPL training when I was called to Austin, Texas, to attend a seminar. Being keen,...

A scary downhill take-off

Anonymous After many years of on-again off-again training, I was finally the proud holder of a private pilot certificate. I had been aware of an...
Aircraft landing

The long and hiding road

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By John Void Becoming lost in unexpected bad weather and low on fuel was a scary experience. For years, we had been flying around western Queensland...
Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII

Crossing the line

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By Tim Rankin Trying to make decisions when fatigued proves difficult for this pilot. This story started some months before the flight about to be...
Piper Archer

Close for comfort

By Des Webster I was flying a Piper Archer from Richmond to Young in December 2018. Around midday I was approaching Young airport from the...
Pilot in cockpit

A picture in your head

By a Flight Safety Australia reader One pilot’s apparent distraction with cockpit technology led to a loss of situational awareness in the circuit area, narrowly...
Piper Warrior III

Nothing on the clock

By Warren Scanlon This pilot had to make quick decisions after the airspeed indicator failed Shortly after obtaining my private pilots’ licence, I hired a Warrior...
Lights at runway threshold

Comedy of terrors

Comedy of terrors By a Flight Safety Australia reader It was a departure from Karachi, Pakistan at 0100 local, with the outside air temperature in the...
Cessna

What’s the circuit height?

I originally learnt to fly in the mid-1970s, but a stint working overseas followed by some serious health issues, caused me to stop flying...

Complacency does hurt

By Dion Puru In mid-2018 I attended a skydiving training event at a small skydiving centre on the Central Coast of NSW. I was training...

Aerobatics training saved me from a death spiral

By Charles O’Neil As I write about this close call, I have been flying for 58 years and am enjoying it now as much as...
Cessna 172S

The passenger trap

By Greg Ackman It was a lovely day for flying and my two passengers were a husband and wife who owned a business that sold...

Red means danger

A young engineer who followed his training and stood his ground when others assured him there was no problem may well have saved his...

It’s not worth dying for

by Lea Vesic It was a cool, calm and cloudy winter’s day in Adelaide, but (in hindsight) not the kind of day you wake up...

How I learned to say no

Name withheld by request The general narrative of a close call story is one of a singular incident, where perhaps one came much closer to...
Beech Sundowner aircraft

Not very happy returns

A much-anticipated first flying lesson ends badly in this close call, first published in 2012 Name withheld by request I was 18 years old, and each...

Programmed to deceive

The amazing technology that directs you to wherever you want to go will just as happily direct you to where you don’t want to...

You can do this, just breathe

In this close call from 2012, Terry Anderson thanks his instructor for the flying lessons and general attitude that made a night engine failure...
Jabiru J120

Ignoring the windsock

This contributor had a scary encounter with a slippery runway Name withheld by request On a cold winter morning, I departed the Yarra Valley (Victoria) in...

The old man was right

Now older himself, the author of this 2011 close call rues the combination of inexperience and confidence that almost got him killed. Name withheld...

Locked into terror

Sometimes it’s important to listen to your doubts, even when there seem to be perfectly good explanations for something that just doesn’t feel right,...

When in doubt speak up

This repost of a close call from 2010 is timeless in its lessons, and in its ability to raise a cringe Name withheld by request A common...

Fully sick

Simon Pettit tells of a less-than-VIP experience in an oldie-but-goodie story from our 2010 Close Calls Special I was flying tourists around Kings Canyon, as...

His story … almost history

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Pilot Michael Ralph’s graphic retelling of an all-too-common VFR occurrence. On 29 July 2007, a Piper Warrior flown by a VFR pilot, with three...

A brutal hazing

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Flight Safety Australia reader Nic Barnes discovers things are different up north As a VFR private pilot from Adelaide, I have enjoyed many years of...

Overly task focused

As I sit here typing in a neck brace, arm cast and with a mouth full of stitches, I can’t help but note the...

This can’t be the leans, I’m not in cloud!

by Julian Yates I’ve tried to avoid situations that cause raised heart rates and sweaty palms while flying and have mostly achieved this. I’m pretty...

First Solo Sorrows

by Gavin Richardson As most of you would understand, your first solo is a big deal. The emotions, nerves, confidence and premature elation is consuming...

Aviate-navigate-communicate-administrate

by Alexander Robinson, a Flight Safety Australia reader ‘Aviation in itself is not inherently dangerous. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it...

The air was electric

by Peter Ffrench, a Flight Safety Australia reader As a newbie paraglider pilot at Stanwell Park in 2006, a part of my site induction was...

Green walls of Salamanca

by Tony Sandeberg, Flight Safety Australia reader It was my second paragliding adventure to Europe. The first had been the best five weeks of my life,...

Rescued in the nick of time: what not to do

Name withheld by request. I had not long before purchased a beautiful Skyfox Gazelle aircraft from Boonah Queensland airport and I was very proud of...

Flameout!

by Stephen Cooper, a Flight Safety Australia reader Today’s mission was to be a four aircraft simulated attack on HMAS Perth sailing 140 nautical miles...

Mountain weather can easily fool you

by Gilbert Griffith, a Flight Safety Australia reader I had taken my ultralight thruster single seat aircraft out for a short trip of less than...

178 seconds, the real life version

Lee Ungermann, Former Manager Sport Aviation at Civil Aviation Safety Authority This precautionary tale is one of what happens when experience, complacency and rapidly changing environments conspire...
A fullstall with a paraglider

Deadly decision

by David Wood, Flight Safety Australia reader I’d test-flown this paraglider at 10,000 feet over the Himalayas and as far as I could tell it...

Crosswind Chaos

Several years ago, my father was visiting from overseas and we were both keen to attend a small fly in and airshow prior to...

A close shave

by John Michell, Flight Safety Australia reader The Jodel D9 aeroplane was a very light wood and fabric aircraft that would now easily fit into...

Rush is the greatest enemy

by John Raby There was never a better time to have set out to make your career as an airline pilot than the early nineteen...

Avocado aviator

I had just completed my RA-Aus cross country endorsement when I ventured across the Tasman for my annual visit to catch up with friends...

Complacency – The sleeping dragon

by Greg Ackman After 40 years and almost 5000 hours of general aviation flying I thought I had it down pat. But one Saturday recently...

It’s always darker on the ground

Close call by Simon Bromiley I was an occasional jump pilot for a small skydiving operation in Western Australia. It was one of those perfect...

A perfect summer day

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by Frank Bender, a Flight Safety Australia reader It was nearing the end of a beautiful summer day on King Island and I was feeling...
Cessna 210

Avoid assumptions without confirmation

Back in the early 80’s I was flying a new Cessna 210 for a company based in Central Western Queensland, servicing an area from...

A very bad decision

Just sitting down to write this still makes my blood run cold. On a day of very marginal weather I went out to Bankstown...