Investigation number
199701676
Occurrence date
Location
9 km south-south-east of Lucindale
State
South Australia
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Aviation occurrence category
Collision with terrain
Occurrence class
Accident
Highest injury level
Serious

The pilot was conducting his first commercial agricultural spraying operation and had been operating on the task for several hours in the afternoon. He was asked by the farmer who owned the property being sprayed, to avoid spraying in the dam on the paddock. Whilst the pilot was attempting to identify the dam, the aircraft's left wing clipped the top of a tree, and the aircraft descended steeply into the ground. The pilot was able to escape from the wreckage, having sustain soft tissue damage, fractures to lower vertebra and both ankles dislocated.

Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Gippsland Aeronautics Pty Ltd
Model
GA-200
Registration
VH-SAV
Operation type
Aerial Work
Sector
Piston
Departure point
Lucindale SA
Destination
Lucindale SA
Damage
Substantial