Weather related precautionary landing - VH-AJZ, 24 km south-east of Geraldton Aerodrome, Western Australia, on 21 March 2010

On 21 March 2010, a Gippsland Aeronautics GA8 Airvan aircraft, registered VH-AJZ, departed East Wallabi Island, in the Abrolhos Islands group, for a return flight to Geraldton, Western Australia (WA), under visual flight rules. On departure, the pilot reported observing a line of thunderstorms with frequent lightning, oriented in about a north-south direction, and approaching Geraldton from the west.

At about 27 km from Geraldton, flying through moderate rain, the pilot noted a vacuum pump failure. At about 11 km, the pilot encountered hail, and at 6 km a '...blanket of rain...' which had obscured the aerodrome, and turbulence which had increased '...quite dramatically...'.

The pilot turned the aircraft away from the line of storms to the south of Geraldton, and at 24 km and at about 1500, elected to conduct a precautionary landing. The pilot selected a suitable landing area in a paddock and landed the aircraft. The aircraft was undamaged and there were no injuries to the pilot or passengers.

Subsequent to this occurrence, the operator provided its pilots with a means for more reliable access to up-to-date weather information when on the ground at the Abrolhos Islands group.