Light aircraft crash-lands at West Sale Airport in Gippsland
The man was flying a Cessna from West Sale airfield to Yarram on Sunday afternoon when on his way back he received an "unsafe" warning indication.
At about 3:30pm emergency services were notified of the incident and arrived at West Sale Airport.
Police, paramedics and the Country Fire Authority were all in attendance.
The aircraft circled to offload fuel before crashing as the pilot attempted to land just after 4:15pm.
Victoria Police Inspector Mel McLennan said the pilot had survived the crash uninjured.
"He was safe and well — no injuries," she said.
"And the plane? Well, that's another story.
"Thankfully, he had a friend that was in another Cessna close by that confirmed that his front landing gear wouldn't lock into place."
Veteran pilot and Edge Aviation co-owner Bob MacGillivray said he was called to the airport by the other pilot.
"He phoned me and said, 'Oh, look, there's an aircraft flying around … got an undercarriage problem, maybe you can race [to] the airport and provide some advice,'" Mr MacGillivray said.
Mr MacGillivray said he was at the airport when the landing was attempted.
"The problem was that he was flying around, he had all three undercarriage legs down," he said.
"But the reality is he had no indication in the cockpit that the nose gear was [down]."
Mr MacGillivray said the pilot suspected the nose gear might not hold during the landing.
"It collapsed on landing," he said.
"The aircraft skidded along on its nose.
"It's always scary when you have that sort of emergency but, you know, he was well-prepared.
A spokesperson for the Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the aircraft's nose landing gear "failed to retract".
The ATSB said it had decided not to conduct an investigation.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Daily Telegraph
a day ago
- Daily Telegraph
Plane carrying 49 passengers crashes in Russia's far east
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed in a remote spot in Russia's far eastern region of Amur on Thursday, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at around 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT). A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in the helicopter saw no evidence of survivors, local rescuers said, as the Amur region's civil defence agency said it was dispatching a ground team to the scene. 'At the moment, 25 people and five units of equipment have been dispatched, and four aircraft with crews are on standby,' it said. The forest terrain has made getting to the site difficult, a rescuer told the state TASS news agency. 'The main search operations are being conducted from the air,' they said. Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Russian city of Irkutsk, made no immediate public comment. This video grab from a handout footage released by the Eastern Interregional Directorate for Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee on July 24, 2025, (Photo by Handout / Investigative Committee of Russia / AFP) Plane attempted 'second landing' The plane was carrying 43 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the region's governor Vassily Orlov. Among the passengers were five children, he said. Russia's state TASS news agency, citing emergency services, said the plane was carrying 40 passengers and six crew. The plane crashed while attempting a second approach to Tynda airport, Russia's Far Eastern Transport Prosecutor's Office said. 'While approaching Tynda Airport, the aircraft went around for a second landing, after which contact was lost,' it said. 'The circumstances are being investigated,' it said. It did not make any immediate comment on what caused the crash. The state TASS news agency reported that the plane was manufactured almost 50 years ago. 'In 2021, the aircraft's airworthiness certificate was extended until 2036,' it reported, citing a source in aviation services. AFP was not able to immediately verify this information. The Antonov-24 is a popular, Soviet-designed twin-propeller plane that first entered into service in 1959. Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets in recent years, but ageing light aircraft are still widely used in far-flung regions, with accidents being frequent. Originally published as Plane carrying 49 passengers crashes in Russia's far east

News.com.au
a day ago
- News.com.au
Plane crash in Russia's far east kills nearly 50 people
A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed in a remote area of Russia's far eastern Amur region on Thursday, killing all on board, authorities said. The plane, a Soviet-made twin-propeller Antonov-24, went down in remote, thickly forested terrain, leaving a column of smoke pouring from the crash site and no signs of survivors, according to state media and videos published by investigators. The Angara Airlines flight was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at around 1:00 pm local time (0400 GMT). A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of Tynda's airport. Videos published by Russian investigators showed smoke rising from the crash site and what appeared to be fragments of the plane strewn across the forest floor. A search and rescue team arrived only hours after the crash at the remote, hard-to-reach site and found no evidence of survivors, according to the state news agency TASS. Investigators did not say what caused the crash. Weather conditions at the time of the incident were poor, Angara Airlines CEO Sergei Salamanov told Russia's REN TV channel. "The commander made the decision to carry out the flight," he was quoted as saying. Tynda, home to around 30,000 people, lies in an area of thick taiga forest about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the Chinese border. At least one Chinese national was on the flight, state media in China reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolence to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. "I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims," Xi said, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. The plane dropped from radar while attempting a second approach to land at Tynda, regional prosecutors said. The forest terrain complicated search efforts, a rescuer told the TASS agency. "The main search operations are being conducted from the air," it said. Angara Airlines, a small regional carrier based in the Russian city of Irkutsk, did not immediately release a statement on the crash. - Five children - Russia's aviation watchdog has not yet given a definitive number of people on board. The Amur region's governor, Vasily Orlov, said the plane was carrying 43 passengers and six crew members. Among the passengers were five children, he said. The TASS agency cited emergency services as saying the plane was carrying 40 passengers and six crew. Aviation authorities have opened an investigation. The plane appeared to have been manufactured almost 50 years ago, during the Soviet era, according to civil aviation database In 2021, the aircraft's airworthiness certificate was extended until 2036, data from the site showed. AFP was not able to immediately verify this information. The Antonov-24 is a popular, Soviet-designed turboprop plane that first entered into service in 1959. Russia has taken steps to switch from Soviet aircraft to modern jets in recent years, but ageing light aircraft are still widely used in far-flung regions, with accidents frequent. bur/jhb


ABC News
a day ago
- ABC News
7.30: Thursday 24/7/2025
ABC iview Home Watch all your favourite ABC programs on ABC iview. More from ABC We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.