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Close Calls
Have you had a close call? If you’ve got a story to tell, but your hands are still shaking too much to write it down, there is a new way to share it with us. Close ‘Call Us’! Simply email the team at Fight Safety Australia. We’ll make a time to hear your story, write it up and send it back to you for a final check. If your story is published, we’ll send you a $250 gift voucher. If you choose to pen your own Close Call, you will receive $500 if published. We want to hear from any sector of aviation. Flight Safety Australia provides a safe space to share your story and can be anonymous. Articles should be between 450 and 1400 words. Get in touch or submit your close call by emailing fsa@casa.gov.au and your story could be published like the ones below...
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 itis
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
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...
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.
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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
The long and hiding road
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...
Crossing the line
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...
Too 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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
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
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...
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...