The Australian Transport Safety Bureau did not conduct an
on-scene investigation of this occurrence. The report presented
below was prepared principally from information supplied to the
Bureau.
REPORTED INFORMATION
On 8 March 2005, the Gippsland Aeronautics Pty Ltd GA-8
aircraft, registered VH-FGN, was carrying emergency relief supplies
from Muelaboh to Patek in Aceh Province, Indonesia, as part of the
Tsunami relief effort. The aircraft occupants comprised the pilot
and one passenger.
A level, 700 m long and 7 m wide portion of a bitumen-sealed
roadway formed the designated landing area for the operator's
relief flights into Patek. The landing area was not marked with
runway markings.
The operator reported that the pilot misidentified the
commencement of the landing area, and that the aircraft touched
down about 400 m short of the commencement of that area.
There was debris adjacent to the part of the road where the
aircraft landed.
During the landing flare, the aircraft's left wingtip struck
some of that debris, and a 1 m portion of the left wingtip was
dislodged. The impact yawed the aircraft to the left, and the right
wingtip then contacted the ground.
The landing gear collapsed and the aircraft came to rest to the
left of the sealed roadway, about 100 m from where the left wingtip
initially struck the debris.
The two occupants were uninjured, and were able to exit the
aircraft unaided.
The pilot held an Australian Commercial Pilot (Aeroplane)
Licence, and was endorsed to fly the GA-8 aircraft. The operator
provided induction training for the pilot at the commencement of
his duties in Aceh Province. The training included one landing at
Patek. The accident occurred four days after the pilot commenced
duties in Aceh Province. During those four days, the pilot had
performed two take-offs from Patek, and had landed there twice
before the accident flight.
There was no evidence that environmental, mechanical,
operational or other factors contributed to the circumstances of
the accident.
The operator reported that as a result of the occurrence, it
will conduct a risk analysis before the commencement of any new
operations such as those conducted at Aceh Province. The operator
also reported that it would include a special training module in
its Operations Manual for pilots assigned to operations in Aceh,
and that procedures for aircraft operating on roads would also be
included in its Operations Manual.