The Australian Transport Safety Bureau did not conduct an
on-scene investigation of this occurrence. The report presented
below was derived from information supplied to the Bureau.
On 20 July 2004, a Cessna Aircraft Company 206, registered
VH-DSP, struck trees while the pilot was attempting to land at
Medlow Bath airfield (Katoomba) in the Blue Mountains, NSW. The
aircraft was being operated on a private flight carrying two
passengers from Canberra to Katoomba.
The pilot reported that on arrival at Katoomba, he overflew the
airfield. After observing the surface wind direction from the
windsocks, he elected to land on the south-west strip. The pilot
extended the aircraft wing flaps to 10 degrees for the approach and
landing. During the landing flare, when the aircraft was about 8 ft
above the ground, it began to drift to the right because of
crosswind. The pilot applied left rudder to counter the drift and
to regain control of the aircraft, but the drift continued. The
pilot then decided to discontinue the landing, and applied
go-around power. Moments later, the aircraft impacted a pile of
felled trees adjacent to, and to the right of, the landing strip.
The aircraft came to rest in an inverted attitude, and was
extensively damaged. The three occupants received minor injuries,
but were able to exit the aircraft unaided.
Figure 1: Aerial view of the Medlow Bath airfield
showing the aircraft wreckage.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) provided an assessment of the
surface wind conditions at Katoomba airstrip on the day of the
occurrence. BoM analysed the wind data recorded by the Mt Boyce
automatic weather station (AWS), which was located near Katoomba
airstrip. The recorded data revealed that the surface wind was from
the south-southwest at 5 to 8 kts (mean) for most of the day, with
gusts to 11 kts. BoM reported that stronger gusts probably
occurred, but because of their transient nature, they were not
recorded by the AWS.
A witness at Katoomba airstrip observed the accident, and
reported that a crosswind gust of about 15 to 20 kts occurred as
the aircraft was landing. The witness observed the aircraft rolling
to the right before cartwheeling into the timber.
The pilot's attempt to counter the unexpected and sudden
increase in the crosswind was unsuccessful. The investigation
concluded that the aircraft's continued drift to the right of the
runway while still airborne, and the late attempt by the pilot to
discontinue the landing, resulted in its inadvertent impact with
the pile of felled trees.