What happened
On the morning of 4 July 2025, a Diamond DA 40 aircraft with an instructor and student on board departed Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport, Queensland, for a navigational training flight to Inglewood Aircraft Landing Area. Upon arrival at Inglewood the aircraft, with the student as pilot in charge, joined the runway 23 circuit for a series of circuits with touch-and-go landings.
During the final approach into a touch-and-go, the aircraft became unstable, and the instructor took control of the aircraft. The instructor conducted a go-around before the final touch-and-go and noticed the presence of several workers outside of the runway gable markers. During the subsequent climb out, the instructor repositioned the aircraft for better visibility of the overall aerodrome and then observed an exposed white cross near the windsock, indicating that the aerodrome was closed (Figure 1). The instructor reported that no radio calls had been heard from the ground on the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF) during the time the aircraft was operating from the aerodrome.
The aerodrome operator reported that the closure marking sign is set permanently on the ground next to the windsock, where it can be opened to reveal a white cross (indicating the aerodrome is closed), or folded shut for normal (open) operations (Figure 2).
Figure 1: Extended white cross indicating aerodrome closure
Source: Aerodrome operator
Figure 2: Folded cross sign (black) indicating aerodrome open
Source: Aerodrome operator
Safety message
Crews of aircraft intending to operate from uncertified aerodromes without a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) service available are reminded of the need to verify the availability of the aerodrome before undertaking flights to these locations. This can entail contacting the aerodrome operator directly and conducting an overfly of the aerodrome upon arrival to confirm aerodrome and runway serviceability.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.