Summary
A number of Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft, one at Devonport and two others inbound to Devonport, were unable to contact a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) aircraft, VH-CGH, which called seven miles inbound to Devonport. The weather was marginal with the cloud base at 600 feet. After two unsuccessful attempts to land, VH-CGH departed for Wynyard.
The pilot of VH-CGH had recently passed a biennial flight review. He had recently returned to flying after a considerable lapse. At the time of the incident, he was having trouble with selection switches on the VHF radio. He had selected audio to headphones instead of the speaker such that he could transmit but not hear any replies from other aircraft.
There was no known breakdown in separation between aircraft.
Significant Factors
The following factors were considered relevant to the development of the incident:
1. The pilot was unfamiliar with the radio selection switches installed in the aircraft.
2. The pilot operated at Devonport in non-visual meteorological weather conditions.
Occurrence summary
| Investigation number | 199302103 |
|---|---|
| Occurrence date | 09/07/1993 |
| Location | Devonport |
| State | Tasmania |
| Report release date | 26/10/1994 |
| Report status | Final |
| Investigation type | Occurrence Investigation |
| Investigation status | Completed |
| Mode of transport | Aviation |
| Aviation occurrence category | VFR into IMC |
| Occurrence class | Incident |
Aircraft details
| Manufacturer | Cessna Aircraft Company |
|---|---|
| Model | 182Q |
| Registration | VH-CGH |
| Sector | Piston |
| Operation type | Flying Training |
| Departure point | Wynyard TAS |
| Destination | Devonport TAS |
| Damage | Nil |