The pilot and his passenger were conducting a private flight in
the pilot's Jabiru aircraft in the Southport area. Several other
pilots heard the pilot advise over the radio that he was conducting
a simulated engine failure and glide approach. The aircraft
subsequently impacted a steep embankment short of runway 19 at
Southport aerodrome and on the extended runway centreline. The
embankment was approximately 2 m high, about 210 m from the
displaced approach threshold and 30 m short of the sealed runway
surface. Both occupants sustained fatal injuries.
An examination of the wreckage indicated that the aircraft had
impacted the embankment in a moderately nose-high, left wing-low
attitude. Damage to the propeller indicated that the engine was
delivering significant power at the time of impact. There were no
known flight control deficiencies and the evidence indicated that
the aircraft was capable of normal flight prior to the
accident.
Local procedures required that pilots conduct right circuits
when operating on runway 19. Tall trees adjacent to the aerodrome
induced localised mechanical turbulence, windshear and downdrafts
when the wind was from the southeast. At the time of the accident,
the wind was recorded on the Gold Coast Seaway as 150 degrees at 15
kts, gusting to 18 kts.
It is likely that the aircraft entered an area of turbulence and
high sink rate generated by the prevailing wind over the adjacent
trees. Given the evidence of significant power at the time of
impact, it is possible that the pilot had initiated a go around at
a stage in the approach from which it was not possible to establish
a positive rate of climb.