Rejected take-off and runway excursion involving a Cessna 182P, Coffs Harbour Airport, New South Wales, on 2 August 2026

What happened

On the morning of 2 August 2026, a Cessna 182P was conducting skydiving operations out of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, with 2 pilots and 4 passengers on board. The pilot in command (PIC) was undergoing parachuting familiarisation instruction under the supervision of a safety pilot.

The PIC reported that during the take-off roll, the aircraft accelerated to the published take-off speed of 60 kt and they began applying back pressure to the control column to raise the nose and allow the aircraft to become airborne. They then observed that the aircraft did not become airborne as expected and the airspeed had stabilised at approximately 65 kt. The PIC then momentarily reduced back pressure on the control column to allow the airspeed to increase, before applying more back pressure as instructed by the safety pilot.

As the PIC believed that the aircraft had still not become airborne and considered that there was a significant risk of a stall at low altitude if the take-off was continued, they decided to reject the take-off at an airspeed of about 82 kt with approximately 180 m of runway remaining. The PIC immediately reduced the power and applied maximum braking. The main landing gear wheels locked up and the aircraft exited the paved runway surface and continued onto the grass overrun area. After departing the runway, the main nose landing gear collapsed and the propeller struck the ground, with the aircraft subsequently coming to a stop. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and 2 passengers received minor injuries.

Safety action

The operator has advised the ATSB that their training manual has been revised to include a requirement for pilots undergoing familiarisation instruction at Coffs Harbour to use the longer of the 2 available runways to provide an increased margin of safety in the event that a high‑speed rejected take‑off is required.

Safety message

The inclusion of threat and error management (TEM) in the pre-flight briefing can assist pilots with reducing the risk of an accident or serious incident when aircraft performance is not as expected.

A key example is highlighted in the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s publication Rejected Take Offs, which encourages pilots to establish a pre-determined ‘stop or continue’ decision point as part of their pre-flight preparation. This is particularly useful in situations where there is a level of unfamiliarity in relation to the aircraft or operation type, or aerodrome.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has published guidance material on mitigating the risk of a runway excursion.

Airservices Australia has also published guidance material in the form of a Runway Safety Checklist which can be used by both pilots and operators to assess the effectiveness of standard operating procedures in managing the risk of a runway excursion during both take-off and landing.

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.