The Australian Transportation Safety Bureau has released a report into the crash of a Cheetah Sierra 200 light aircraft into a ferris wheel on the NSW north coast in October 2011.
The report says the pilot of the Sierra was attempting to land at Old Bar near Taree and had just performed a go-around, when it struck and became lodged in the ferris wheel at a nearby amusement park during the climb out. The pilot and one passenger were on board the aircraft, and there were four occupants on the ferris wheel, none of whom were seriously injured.
The report found that the management of risk in relation to flight training operations by Recreational Aviation Australia Incorporated (RA-Aus) was adequate, but it “had been circumvented in a number of areas during the training of the pilot. That resulted in a pilot operating in the aviation environment who did not possess the required competencies to exercise the privileges of a private pilot certificate.”
The report also found that “the approach to the management of risk by the Old Bar Beach Festival Committee, specifically relating to aviation operations at the beach festival, was ineffective and resulted in a level of risk that had the potential to impact on the objectives of the festival.”
The full report can be found at http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2011/aair/ao-2011-126.aspx
