The report into the incident did not seek to apportion blame or provide a means for determining liability but noted several issues.
Pre-race festivities included the Peter Brock Trophy being delivered by pilot Hayden Pullen, who landed his Extra EA 300-LT on Mountain Straight.
After landing, the pilot struck a concrete wall with the tailplane. That prompted an investigation into the incident.
The investigation found flaws in the pilot’s plan for the October event, which included flying over spectators in designated no-fly areas.
The pilot was found to have breached the required air display spectator safety heights and distances.
Compounding that issue was that the pilot was notified he had struck a concrete wall but did not conduct an external inspection of the damage.
“The camera operator in the media helicopter saw the aircraft’s tail impact the barrier during the turn and immediately reported this to the media helicopter pilot,” the report read in-part.
“The media helicopter pilot in turn immediately informed the incident pilot of the collision over the radio and recommended the pilot check the aircraft’s tail before take-off.
“The pilot contacted their team member at the track via radio, but reported at interview that the team member could not observe the collision.
“The pilot also reported that they did not feel the contact with the barrier, and that after the trophy was delivered, a full control check was conducted on the ground as well as a visual check of the tail from their cockpit seated position, with no control problems or visible damage identified.
“The pilot then taxied the aircraft back uphill along Mountain Straight, turned around to line‑up in the northerly direction (opposite to the landing direction), and departed overhead the spectators to return to Bathurst Airport.
“After arrival at the airport, the pilot saw the damage to the tailplane and contacted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in response to a request for information about the incident.”
Read the ATSB’s findings summary below:
“The ATSB found that in preparing for the event, the pilot planned to land and take-off over a designated NO FLY AREA occupied by spectators, which did not comply with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s (CASA) required spectator safety heights and distances for an air display.
“The aircraft struck a barrier after landing on Mountain Straight during a reversal turn resulting in damage to the tailplane. However, following advice of the impact from a media helicopter, the pilot did not conduct an external inspection and subsequently departed overhead a spectator NO FLY AREA.
“The ATSB also found that the CASA inspector approved the pilot’s application to land and take‑off from Mountain Straight, despite limited information from the applicant and the published safety constraints of the NO FLY AREAs surrounding the planned landing area.”
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