Outrageous headline

Trainee pilot's solo flight death dive

You can always trust Fairfax to put a sensational headline on an aviation story, can't you?

Training operations are inherently riskier than normal operations, hence there is a prohibition on carrying passengers whilst conduction training operations. This incident is a reminder of how unforgiving of errors aviation can be.

My condolences go out to the family of the pilot.

My sympathies to the person glaringly ignored in the article - the instructor who sent his young student solo, never to return.

Edit - update

Photos of VH-CGT, the second aeroplane involved, which made it back safely.





The pilot clearly did very well to get her down safely - personally I'm staggered she continued to fly at all with damage to the left flap, the rudder and half the horizontal stabiliser torn open.

Photos from an anonymous source, so apologies if this photo belongs to you, get in touch with me and I'll take it down or credit you.