The ATSB will investigate a mid-air collision between two aircraft over Port Phillip Bay on Sunday afternoon.
The two-seat, civilian-operated ex-military jet trainer aircraft were reported to be conducting a formation flight over the Bay. After the collision one of the aircraft is reported to have lost control and subsequently impacted the water, while the second recovered to Essendon Airport.
ATSB transport safety investigators are preparing to gather evidence from a range of sources including conducting interviews, retrieving all available recorded data, and gathering weather, aircraft maintenance, operator procedure and pilot information and documentation.
The ATSB asks anyone who may have witnessed and has footage of the accident, or who has footage of the aircraft in any phase of their flights, to contact us via the witness form on our website at their earliest convenience.
The ATSB will release a preliminary report detailing factual information established in the investigation’s evidence gathering phase in about two months. A final report will be released at the conclusion of the investigation and will detail analysis and findings.
However, if at any point during the investigation we uncover any critical safety issues we will immediately inform relevant parties so they can take safety actions.