MONDAY 12.53pm: AUSTRALIA’S peak body for administering ultralight and recreational aircraft will investigate yesterday’s ultralight plane crash at Bendigo Airport.
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Recreational Aviation Australia chief executive Michael Linke said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the crash and any follow-up action the organisation may take.
Bendigo Airport staff yesterday notified authorities, including the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, of the single-plane crash in which a student pilot and an instructor sustained minor injuries.
The ATSB referred the matter to RAAus for further investigation.
The Bendigo Airport was closed for two hours on Sunday while emergency services attended.
SUNDAY 4.30pm: A SINGLE-PLANE crash at Bendigo Airport has been attributed to pilot error.
Airport manager Phil Hansen said the student pilot lost control of the ultralight Foxbat aircraft during takeoff.
The nose of the training aircraft hit the runway, disabling the aircraft.
Mr Hansen said the student pilot was accompanied by an instructor.
Both men were taken to Bendigo hospital with minor injuries for further observation.
The airport was closed for two hours while emergency services attended and airport staff cleared “a little bit of debris” from the scene.
Mr Hansen said the runway was not damaged.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was notified of the crash, and has referred the matter to Recreational Aviation Australia.
Mr Hansen also intends to inform the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, though he said the matter was outside of the authority’s jurisdiction.
He said crashes of this nature were “very infrequent”.
Bendigo Highway Patrol Sergeant Mick McCrann said both the pilot and the instructor were from Melbourne.
Ambulance Victoria, CFA, SES and Victoria Police members attended the scene.
CFA District 2 Operations Officer Chris Jacobsen said members managed a minor fuel leak and worked with SES to provide shade and shelter at the air strip for the services responding.
EARLIER: FLIGHTS have resumed at Bendigo Airport after an incident on the runway this morning.
Emergency services were called to the airfield about 10am following reports an ultralight aircraft had crashed.
Senior Sergeant Ian Brooks, of Bendigo Highway Patrol, believed the aircraft had run off the runway and been damaged prior to taking off.
The two occupants of the aircraft – a man in his 20s and a man in his 30s – sustained minor injuries.
Ambulance Victoria said both people were taken to Bendigo hospital in a stable condition for further assessment.
Their injuries consisted of cuts, abrasions and bruising.
Senior Sergeant Brooks believed the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was investigating.
Emergency services were at the scene for more than an hour, and the runway was closed for about two hours.
It has since re-opened.
More to come.