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No survivors after light plane crashes in paddock near Mount Gambier
Updated 22 minutes ago

Wed 28 Jun 2017, 3:52pm
Photo: The plane crashed into a paddock north of Mount Gambier. (ABC South East SA: Kate Hill)

A pilot and two passengers have died when a light aircraft crashed just north of Mount Gambier in South Australia's south-east.

The plane crashed into a paddock near the intersection of Walker and Sunnybrae roads, in Suttontown, just before 10:30am.

Police said there were no survivors.

The wreckage of the aircraft was smouldering when emergency crews first arrived.

Photo: There was thick fog around the area before the plane crashed not far from Mount Gambier airport. (ABC South East: Kate Hill)

The Country Fire Service said the plane was extensively damaged.

There was thick fog around the area before the crash delaying Mount Gambier flights from Adelaide and Melbourne.

Four Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators are on their way to Mount Gambier to help local investigators.

"The team will be examining the site and wreckage, gathering any recorded data and interviewing any witnesses," the ATSB said in a statement.

The ATSB said the plane involved was a TB10 Tobago.

Walker Road remains closed to traffic between Hinton Road and Sunnybrae Road.

Photo: Police have closed off traffic after a light plane crash near Mount Gambier's airport. (ABC South East: Kate Hill)

&.. via the Adelaide Advertiser:

Plane crash at Suttontown, near Mount Gambier

THREE people have died in a plane crash in the state’s south-east.

Emergency services were called to Suttontown, near Mount Gambier, in response to reports that a small aircraft had crashed about 10.30am.

The plane, a Tobago TB10, came down in a field near the intersection of Sunnybrae and Walker roads.

Three people who were on board the plane have died.

It is the second fatal light-plane crash in South Australia in two months, with three people dying in a crash in Renmark in late May.

A small plane has crashed at Suttontown near Mt Gambier. Picture: Frank Monger

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is sending a four-person team to the crash site to investigate the incident.

The team is coming from Canberra and is expected to arrive later this afternoon.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority says the plane was a single-engined Tobago, but it’s unclear what the nature of the flight was.

A Country Fire Service spokeswoman said the plane had been “extensively damaged”.
Walker Road has been closed to traffic between Hinton Road and Sunnybrae Road.

An activity log for the plane, which was built in 1992, showed it was scheduled to fly from Mount Gambier Airport to Adelaide Airport at 9.50am.

It was due to arrive at Adelaide Airport just before 11.30am.


Emergency services at the scene of the plane crash at Suttontown, near Mount Gambier. Picture: Frank Monger

The flight path of VH-YTM before its crash at Suttontown, near Mount Gambier just, before 10.30am on Wednesday. Source: FlightAware

It was then expected to fly from there to Murray Bridge at 12.10pm.

A Mount Gambier flying school has offered its condolences to family and friends of those killed in the crash.

Gambi Air Flying School posted on its Facebook page that its neither aircraft, students nor instructors were involved in the tragedy.

“Such a tragic event and our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of those on board the aircraft,” the school posted.

Today’s fatal crash comes just weeks after three people were killed in a Rossair light aircraft crash near Renmark airport in late May.

The plane came down in scrubland 4km west of the Renmark Aerodrome, in the Cooltong Conservation Park, during a training flight about 4.30pm.

That crash claimed the lives of Rossair chief pilot Martin Scott, 48, retraining pilot Paul Daw, 65 and Civil Aviation Safety Authority officer Stephen Guerin, 56.

Rossair immediately grounded all flights in the wake of the disaster, pending investigations.

Part of the wreckage were transported to Adelaide for further investigation and a preliminary report by the Air Transport Safety Bureau was expected within a month.

But the exact cause of the crash may take up to a year.

The Rossair crash was South Australia’s worst air disaster since eight people on board a Whyalla Airlines flight were killed when it crashed into the Spencer Gulf, on May 31, 2000.

MORE TO COME

&.. from the ATSB investigation webpage:

Collision with terrain involving SOCATA TB-10 Tobago, VH-YTM, near Mount Gambier Airport, South Australia, on 28 June 2017
 
Investigation number: AO-2017-069
Investigation status: Active
 

• Tab - Summary
  

Summary

The ATSB is investigating a fatal aircraft accident involving a SOCATA TB-10 Tobago aircraft, registered VH-YTM, that occurred about 3km south-west of Mount Gambier Airport, South Australia on 28 June 2017.

The aircraft collided with terrain. The pilot and two passengers were fatally injured.

The ATSB has deployed a team of four investigators to the accident site with expertise that includes aircraft engineering, technical and human factors.

While on site the team will be examining the site and wreckage, gathering any recorded data, and interviewing any witnesses.

The ATSB will provide an update on its website outlining the facts of the accident within 30 days.
 
General details

Date: 28 June 2017
 
Investigation status: Active
 
Time: 10:30 CST
 
Investigation type: Occurrence Investigation
 
Location   (show map): 3 km south-west of Mount Gambier Airport
 
Occurrence type: Collision with terrain
 
State: South Australia
 
Occurrence category: Accident
 
Report status: Pending
 
Highest injury level: Fatal
 
Expected completion: December 2017
 
Aircraft details

Aircraft manufacturer: S.O.C.A.T.A.-Groupe Aerospatiale
 
Aircraft model: TB-10
 
Aircraft registration: VH-YTM
 
Serial number: 1518
 
Type of operation: Private
 
Sector: Piston
 
Damage to aircraft: Substantial
 
 
 
 


Last update 28 June 2017

RIP & condolences to NOK -


MTF...