Collision with terrain - Cessna 172N, VH-ZWR, The Oaks, Fraser Island, Queensland, on 4 January 2012

At about 1000 Eastern Standard Time on 4 January 2012, a Cessna 172 N aircraft, registered VH-ZWR, operating under the Visual Flight Rules in G Airspace, was taking off to conduct a charter flight with the pilot and three passengers on board.

When the aircraft had reached about 25 to 30 ft above ground level, after take-off from The Oaks beach at Fraser Island, Queensland, the aircraft descended. The right wingtip struck the beach near the water line and the aircraft came to rest on the left wingtip and nose. The occupants exited the aircraft with minor injuries before the aircraft was turned on its back several minutes later by wave action.

The circumstances of the accident were consistent with an aircraft stalling as it climbed out of ground effect while flying at an airspeed and configuration where the airspeed was unstable.

As a result of this accident the operator has reviewed their soft field take-off procedures.

This accident highlights that pilots should be aware of the effect that flap extension has on the stall attitude of their aircraft, and the need for pilots to be aware of performance variations when conducting a soft field take-off.