ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 149701
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| Date: | Saturday 27 March 1976 |
| Time: | 12:22 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna 180 |
| Owner/operator: | Rossair Pty, Ltd |
| Registration: | VH-TCU |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Blackwood, 10 kilometres south of Adelaide, S.A. -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Test |
| Departure airport: | Parafield, SA (YPPF) |
| Parafield, SA (YPPF) | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Crashed 27 March 1976 in fire, during an altitude record attempt.The flight was arranged by the pilot with the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia and was to be conducted in accordance with FAI rules governing a class of aeroplanes having piston engines and weighing from 1000 kilograms to less than 1750 kilograms. An observer was appointed to monitor the attempt. He
witnessed the weighing of the aircraft and also installed a sealed barograph which was intended to substantiate the actual altitude reached.
The aircraft departed Parafield at 1210 hours and was cleared by Air Traffic Control to climb in accordance with the submitted flight plan. The weather in the Adelaide area was fine and clear. At 1219 hours the pilot made a routine radio report to Adelaide Air Traffic Control when he was over Adelaide at 10,000 feet altitude . He then advised he was leaving the control frequency momentarily, and he passed information on the progress of the flight to Rossair Pty Ltd on the discrete company frequency.
At 1221 the pilot again called on the Air Traffic Control frequency and this was the last transmission from the aircraft recorded at Adelaide Air Traffic Control Centre.
At about 1222 hours, numerous witnesses in the Adelaide metropolitan area saw the aircraft climbing over the suburban area of Blackwood. Smoke and flames were then observed coming from the aircraft, and after leaving a short trail of white smoke, the aircraft disintegrated. Wreckage then fell over a considerable area in suburbs to the south of Adelaide.
Examination of the wreckage disclosed that the aircraft broke up in flight after its structure was weakened by a fierce fire which originated in the cabin area. The source of ignition could not be determined but it is clear that the fire was considerably intensified by oxygen which escaped from the portable oxygen system carried in the aircraft. It has not been possible to establish whether oxygen was leaking from the system prior to the outbreak of the cabin fire .
Sources:
1. Interconair June 1976
2. http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/1976/aair/aair197604622.aspx
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 08-Oct-2012 03:51 | Anon. | Added |
| 03-Apr-2014 21:54 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 03-Apr-2014 21:57 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
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