Oceania

Following a flight from Aneityum Island, the pilot was approaching Port Vila Airport when the twin engine airplane crashed in a wooded area located southeast of the airport of Port Vila-Bauerfield. The airplane was destroyed and all five occupants were transported to a local hospital. About two days after the accident, one of the survivors died from injuries sustained.

After takeoff from Lizard Island Airport, the crew continued to climb until he reached the altitude of 4,000 feet. Due to an engine malfunction, the crew decided to return to Lizard Island Airport but the airplane overshot and crashed, coming to rest upside down. All 10 occupants were injured and evacuated.

The twin engine airplane departed Sunshine Coast-Caloundra Airport at 0733LT on a flight to Pago Pago, US Samoa, with two people on board. About 45 minutes into the flight, while cruising at an approximate altitude of 12,000 feet, the pilot inform ATC about an engine failure and elected to return to Sunshine Coast. He made a 180 turn and reduced his altitude. About 45 minutes later, unable to reach his departure airport, the pilot ditched the airplane some 30 nautical miles east of Sunshine Coast. Both occupants found refuge in a dinghy and were quickly rescued. The airplane sank and was lost.

In the early afternoon, the twin engine airplane departed Toowoomba Airport on an aerial survey flight under callsign BDOG370 to Mount Isa with three people on board. The purpose of the flight was to conduct a survey mission of the area in case of bushfire. While cruising at an altitude of 28,000 feet, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent. It reached a rate of descent of 9,600 feet per minute until it crashed in an uninhabited area located approximately 70 km southeast of Cloncurry. All three occupants were killed.

The twin engine airplane departed Bankstown Airport on a cargo flight to Brisbane, carrying one pilot and medical stuffs. While descending to Brisbane-Archerfield Airport, the pilot encountered technical problems with the engines that lost power and attempted an emergency landing. The airplane impacted trees and crashed in a grassy area located along a railway road in Hillcrest, some 10 km south of Archerfield Airport. The pilot escaped with minor injuries.

The single engine airplane departed Giramben Airstrip on a taxi flight to Simbai with three passengers and one pilot on board. Shortly after takeoff, while climbing in heavy rain falls, it crashed near Kudjip, about seven km southeast of the airfield. The airplane broke in two and all four occupants were injured.

The airplane departed Busselton-Margaret River Airport at 1532LT on a fire fighting mission under callsign Bomber 139 (B139). Following a flight at FL290, the crew descended to the Fitzgerald River National Park and completed a circuit over the area. After the retardants were dropped, the crew elected to gain height when the airplane crashed in a wooded area, bursting into flames. Both pilots evacuated with minor injuries and the airplane was destroyed by fire.

On the afternoon of 3 October 2022, a Pilatus Britten-Norman Islander BN2A-21, registered VHWQA and operated by Torres Strait Air, was conducting a non-scheduled passenger air transport flight from Saibai Island Airport, Queensland (QLD) to Horn Island Airport, QLD. There was 1 pilot and 6 passengers (students) on board. About 19 km NE of Moa Island both engines began to surge. The pilot diverted towards Kubin Airport on Moa Island. As the aircraft passed to the south of the township of Saint Pauls, the pilot determined there was insufficient altitude remaining to reach the airport. As a result, the pilot conducted a forced landing on a road 7 km ENE of Kubin Airport. There were no reported injuries to the pilot or the passengers. The aircraft was substantially damaged.

The airplane was on a VFR charter flight from Kiunga Airport, Western Province to Tekin Airstrip, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea. During the landing roll aircraft sustained a left main landing gear assembly collapse and subsequent runway excursion. There were seven persons onboard: one pilot and six passengers. At 09:06, P2-BWC departed Kiunga Airport and arrived at Tekin circuit area at 09:40. The pilot established the aircraft on the final approach profile, he configured the aircraft for landing by fully extending the flaps and maintained an airspeed of about 80 knots (kts). The pilot also stated that he experienced a downdraft prior to touch down. The aircraft landed at 09:43 with an airspeed of 75 knots as recalled by the pilot. The aircraft touched down about 3m short of the airstrip edge boundary. The investigation determined that due to reduced damping effect of the oleo and/or the tyre of the left main landing gear, the landing gear attachment bolts sustained significant impact stress from the landing impact force and snapped, causing the gear assembly to collapse and separate from the aircraft. Subsequently, the left wing abruptly dropped, and the aircraft began veering to the left, towards the eastern edge of the airstrip. The aircraft continued veering to the left and subsequently the left wingtip struck the outer edge of the extended right-hand flap of P2-BWE, a wreckage of the same aircraft type owned and operated by NASL that was involved in a similar accident on 18 January 2022, causing P2-BWC to abruptly veer further left and skid across the airstrip boundary as the nose-wheel and right main wheel bogged into the ground. The pilot immediately shut down the engine and evacuated the passengers with the assistance of one of the Operator’s personnel who was also a passenger on board. There were no reported injuries and the aircraft sustained significant damage.

The airplane was conducting a single pilot VFR charter flight from Kiunga Airport, Western Province to Tekin Airstrip, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea when during the landing roll, the aircraft sustained a left Main Landing Gear (MLG) assembly collapse and subsequent runway excursion. There were eight persons onboard: one pilot and seven passengers. At 08:43, P2-BWE departed Kiunga Airport and arrived at Tekin Airstrip circuit at 09:18. The pilot then tracked towards the Northwest of the airstrip and made a left base turn for approach. The pilot stated that he established the aircraft on final approach with an airspeed of 120 kts. He subsequently configured the aircraft for landing; propeller pitch set to full fine, power set to maintain nominated approach speed, and full flap. The pilot indicated that he reduced airspeed while on approach and maintained an airspeed between 85 and 90 kts. As he flared the aircraft to land, the airspeed was between 75 to 80 kts. The touchdown speed, as he recalled, was 75 kts. The aircraft touched down two metres short of the designated landing threshold of runway18, which had an elevation of 15cm. Reviewing the flight records of the pilot, and from his interview, the AIC deduced that the pilot was not adequately familiar with Tekin Airstrip. The aircraft sustained substantial damaged. All the passengers and pilot evacuated the aircraft without injuries.