Have you had a close call? Write to us about an aviation incident or accident that you have been involved in (as long as it’s not the subject of a current official investigation). If we publish your story, you will receive $500. Articles should be between 450 and 1400 words. Submit your close call by emailing fsa@casa.gov.au and your story could be published like the ones below...
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
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...
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...
Phoebus and me
Glider pilot Warren Scanlon learns the importance of ergonomics and familiarity
Having been a member of Waikerie Gliding Club for about four or five years...
I should have known better
They say you don’t know what you don’t know, but I should have known better!
I was really enjoying instructing now I had got the...
An unplanned outlanding
‘Well, the weather isn’t like last week at all,’ I thought to myself as I sat in the cockpit, heart pounding almost as much...
Accomplish the mission
Many years ago, I did a lot of my flying in and around North Queensland and Cairns was a regular destination for me. I...
Valuable lesson learned
It was the mid ‘90’s and I had a restricted pilot’s licence under my belt and was half way through navigation training for my...
Don’t ignore the basics
This is a case of ignoring some of the most basic rules. My instructors had always drilled into me the option to go around...
I learned about flying from that
Close call by Rob Nieuwenhoven
I’d not long had my PPL-A (SEA) when I decided to hire an aeroplane to fly to RAAF Amberley from...
Past the point of no return
Mark Sullivan, Branch Manager, Client Services Centre, Civil Aviation Safety Authority
My life didn’t flash before my eyes, nor did I have a sense of...
A blackout in the dark
by David Francis
Introduction
My wife and I spent seven years building our pre-retirement project, an RV7. It started out as a simple VFR project, then...
That sinking feeling
This is an incident that occurred many years ago but has stuck in my memory ever since.
I was departing a certified, but remote, gravel...
Unintended touchdown
As it was a nice day, I thought it would be good to take the plane out for a trip around the local area...
Fully loaded and going fast
by Morgan Mackay
Skydivers are often asked why they'd want to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane, but what if it wasn't perfect?
I was...
Trim, taut and terrifying
A LAME and low-time pilot learns about aspects of automation that aren’t in the user manual
It was early December and I had the...
Heightened emotion
What happens when the most complex component on the aircraft has problems?
Name withheld by request
This event occurred a number of years ago, and is...
Acid trip
Name withheld by request
A recreational pilot realises he should have trusted his nose for trouble
Autumn mornings often present great flying weather in south-east Queensland...
Conspiracy theory
Name withheld by request
Conspire (verb) of events or circumstances, seemingly to be working together to bring about a particularly negative result.
That word conspire went...
Holes in the cheese
by Paul Gordon-Brander
A Piper PA28R-200 Arrow arrived at our facility for an annual inspection and engine overhaul. The work pack was compiled, the engine...
Flying into cloud
Name withheld by request
Around 5 pm, after a summer’s day, 30 miles south of Biloela, I became surrounded by thick bushfire smoke on top...
Radios—it’s a big sky, but are you listening?
Name withheld by request
Early on in my commercial flying career, I was operating a Cessna 172 on a scenic charter flight will three passengers...
Thermal lesson learnt
Chris Sieberhagen
It was a warm, sunny, late morning on an abandoned airfield surrounded by patchy red earth. You could almost see the thermals popping all...
Drinking distraction
Name withheld by request
It was my rostered day as tow pilot at the gliding club. I got there early so I could pre-flight the...
Time is ticking
by Noah Mirosch
The beginning
It was a routine training flight like any other—Archerfield to Lismore via an overfly at Gold Coast, Lismore to Stanthorpe, and...
When I was young and fuellish
Name withheld by request
It had been a picture perfect day when I set off from Brisbane on a solo navex out west in a...
The hills are alive
Name withheld by request
I’ve held a VFR private pilot’s licence since 1988 and have around 1100 hours in command. Recently, I was involved in...
Sit up or die
Doug Hollstrom
It was a beautiful summer’s day in northern Michigan, in the US. It was 1979 and I had decided to go flying in...
More than a tropical breeze
Jason MacLeod
In June 2016, I travelled to Bali for work but managed to make that coincide with a paragliding tour. With a newly minted...
Easter road trip
By Anthonie Schutte
It’s the Easter weekend. The weather’s perfect, skies are clear and my mate Kevin and I are in the cockpit of my...
All right on the night
Name withheld by request
After the incident, I could only laugh how typical Murphy's law had been to me. I hadn't flown a single minute...
Obvious, with hindsight
Matthew Tomlinson
15 seconds. That was all it took. From the threat first being detected, to a potentially deadly situation, took just 15 seconds. This...
Down to the last drop
A hangar story that could easily have been a front-page newspaper story
Name withheld by request
It was early autumn many years ago and I was...
Watch those last few feet
Name withheld by request
My first close call occurred in September last year. At the time it frightened me to death, but it proved to...
Driven to distraction!
By Frank Martinelli
I am a low-hour recreational pilot who flies from Tyabb, a non-controlled airport south of Melbourne. I usually fly alone, or with...
Edging around the storm
Name withheld by request
As someone who grew up in south-eastern Queensland, I will always remember the strong summer storms that would blow through: the...
Arcing up
It was a simple, mostly harmless event, but it embarrassed an experienced pilot and caused him to ponder his attitude to risk.
I had been...
Hot and distracted
It was a summer day in the north west of NSW and quite hot. I departed the airfield mid-morning and climbed out for some...
At any second
Allan Wardill recalls a crystal clear memory: his first engine failure
I was based at Wewak on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in...
Never forget they’re out there
By Phil Carrick
About a year and a half ago, I took a friend for a great day of flying from Sydney out to Temora...
In sickness and in health
By Deborah Blackman
My partner’s and my four-year dream was about to come to fruition—we were departing on a 78-day flight from Brisbane through northern,...
AUDIO♫: The devil in the detail
How a recreational pilot found himself loaded with fuel without a drop to spare.
Many years ago, I was given the task of delivering a...
All fingers and toes
A low-hour pilot meets the imperatives of ergonomics.
It was a crisp, early morning—cool enough to make your fingertips slightly numb, but a perfect flying...
Popping a joint
A glider jaunt turns serious.
I arrived at the airfield at around 11am on a blue, but soarable day, and found several club members already...
AUDIO♫: Out in Africa
By Rob Rickards
This newly instrument rated pilot was as happy as a warthog in elephant dung. I was flying old, but still shiny, twin...
Power plus attitude
By Max Collins
Night over the Pacific. A Falcon 900 returning to Perth from the United States via Honolulu and Townsville.
The aircraft was operated by...
Light bulb moment
By Peter McCarthy
As a young pilot with about 170 hours total experience, I agreed to make a five-day trip carrying university students on a...
AUDIO♫: What you don’t find can kill you
How secure is your cockpit and cabin? Is everything stowed safely, but still readily available if needed?
One of the fundamental problems with flying is...
Hard lesson to learn
By Mark Awad
It was the type of day most of us pilots live for—low 20 degrees, severe-clear blue skies and not a breath of...
Three-ring mistake
By Mike McGrath
My name is Mike McGrath. I am (or was) a professional skydiver with over 12,000 jumps (7000 tandem jumps) and was the...
AUDIO♫: Undone over Gulgong
By Brendan Cammack
I was running late when I finally left Canberra for the five-hour drive to the town of Gulgong, NSW. Once there I...
A second chance
Name withheld by request
It has taken me six years to actually write this. On many occasions I have thought about it and not done...
Head for the hills
Name withheld by request
When a scenic hang glide took a turn for the worse.
I haven’t mentioned this sport aviation close call to many people,...
AUDIO♫: The rule of three
Name withheld by request
I spent my childhood dreaming of becoming a pilot and getting paid to do something I loved so much. I was...
Solo flight: group errors
By Graham Rees
‘If you see any lift, take it!’ exhorted my instructor. Or so I believed. This was not the first error of the...
Hot and high
Name withheld by request
As a fresh PPL pilot, I was always thrilled when I got to navigate across the state all by myself. The...
AUDIO♫: Learning by threes
Name withheld by request
Complacency is a silent killer. Distraction is beyond dangerous. Situational awareness is everything.
These are the three insights I have gained since...
VFR in not-so VMC weather
Name withheld by request
After lengthy pre-flight planning and preparation, a fellow CPL student and I left Parafield for our commercial training navex to Ayers...
Get there ‘itis’
Name withheld by request
After having recently achieved my private pilot’s licence, I decided to take up an offer from a friend to fly to...
The newbie and the old and bold
Name withheld by request
It was the early 1980s and I was about to do my second solo from a small airport on the NSW...
Command decision
Name withheld by request
I’ve been working for a GA company for the last two years and over that time I can’t recall a single...
Burning dream
By Dale Dieckmann
I think my love of flying probably started when I was about three years old. I would spent a lot of time...
AUDIO♫: Running from the storm
Name withheld by request
Pressing on into an approaching storm-front, then going into low level ‘turn and run’ mode; this was as close to a...
Fatigue faux-pas
Dry, hot and tired—not a good start for this CPL.
Here I was a relatively low-time pilot with a fresh CPL working in various flying...
Alert to the danger
Funny how a chance discussion with another pilot before and after a flight can bring home some important safety lessons. This lesson was about...
AUDIO♫: Freight forward
An air transport pilot tells of a near miss in an ATR.
Many years ago I was employed in Asia flying an ATR-72-212. This aircraft...
In the dark
I had originally intended to stay another day at the air show, but old mate camping next to me is leaving, so I decide...
Complacency or paranoia?
Charles Day ponders the effect of age on pilot decision-making.
Last season I performed my first wheel-up landing (with no damage fortunately), so perhaps it’s...
AUDIO♫: When the pedal hits the stop
My first posting as a brand new RAAF helicopter pilot was to 35 Squadron in Townsville, north Queensland, to fly the Bell UH-1H Iroquois....
No light means it’s time to shine
Name withheld on request
It was a lovely day to fly doctors down to Port Keats. The dry season was here which meant the thunderstorms...
Pre-flight distraction—it’s easy to get caught out!
Name withheld on request
My aircraft is of the ‘low and slow’ variety, a tail wheeler with STOL performance. It’s usually hangared at home base...
Professional unprofessional
Name withheld on request
Here I was on another typical North Queensland wet season day; a low-time pilot, in the middle of a pilot shortage,...
GPS guides to distraction
Modern technology can sometimes get in the way—literally, as David Julian discovered.
As I completed my daily inspection, I reflected on the flying I’d done...
Slash and crash
Answering nature’s call nearly cost hang glider pilot, Howard Taylor, his life.
On the last day of winter this year, myself and a few other...
Airborne: gasping for air
Never forget that your health is a vital part of your pre-flight checks.
Name withheld by request
Hypoxia can bite you when you least expect it...
Dry but not high
by Terry Clark
This 60-year-old, male, low-hour pilot with about 100 GA hours and 50 RA hours was the proud new owner of a neat...
Do you have a checklist?
I had my close call with death last January and thankfully have now recovered enough to write about it, return to work and engage...
Be still my fluttering Seneca
By Sherman E Hall
Although this incident took place almost forty years ago, it will resonate with pilots everywhere, and particularly with the intrepid owners...
Winter of my fright
By Phillip Long
By the winter of 2005 I had held a PPL for 30 years, with about 700 hours in the log book. I...
Too smug for comfort
Name withheld by request
Another very experienced pilot and I were flying a Conquest back to home base after dropping off a load of passengers....
Cold fear in a plastic parrot
Name withheld by request
As a professional pilot I saw myself as someone with an above-average ability to sift through incoming information, identify the salient...
A different spin on take-off
By Richard Arnot
An experienced fixed-wing pilot underestimates the subtle differences between aeroplane and gyrocopter handling.
It was going to be easy to learn to fly...
Short circuit
By Brendan Devine
An aspiring pilot learns why all those circuit drills really matter.
It was a Saturday morning in early April 2005 and I was...
Reading on a train saved my life
Name withheld by request
An insidious hazard nearly ended this pilot’s career before it began—but left him with him a valuable insight.
In 1999, I was...
Up, down, round and round – the haves and the wills
Name withheld by request
I am in the right seat of a Cessna Cutlass in the Canberra circuit, training a private pilot toward his retractable...
Mountain madness
Name withheld by request
We were sitting absolutely still on the runway when it began to rain. The captain was crying and
I wanted to...
One night over Toowoomba
Name withheld by request
In the mid-1980s, relatively early in my career, I was employed as a bank freight pilot, flying a
Piper Seneca. Eight sectors...
Punching holes in Swiss cheese
A cluster of small innocuous decisions can add up to an unexpected fright, as this private pilot now knows.
It was December 2004 and I'd...
Give a little bit
An enthusiastic and dedicated private pilot learns the difference between discipline and rigidity
As a financial markets professional who has been involved in the foreign...
A few home truths
A bemused pilot ponders domestic life, aviation and their interaction
I was 40 years old before I could achieve a long-time ambition to fly. Over...
Complacency can kill
Many years ago I was over the moon to be offered casual weekend work flying joy flights in an aerobatic, radial-engine warbird. I had...
Icing in the USA
A few years ago, while living in the south-eastern United States, I decided it was time for an instrument rating. I had about 250...
Frying tonight
There are some situations in flying that really energise your thinking. Think of engine failure. Think of weather conditions deteriorating below minimums. And, as...