VH-AAV crash

VH-AAV was the registration of a Beech King Air 200 aircraft which crashed at Sydney Airport on 21 February 1980, killing all 13 people on board. The accident was the first fatal airline crash in Australia since 1968.

After taking off on runway 16 for a scheduled flight to Temora, New South Wales, the aircraft's port engine failed and the pilot requested an emergency landing on runway 34. The plane crashed into the sea wall while attempting the emergency landing. The pilot and all 12 passengers on board were killed.

A board of inquiry, headed by Sir Sydney Frost, found in 1983 that the accident was caused by the presence of water in the fuel tank, leading to the engine failure, and pilot error. The inquiry recommended that commercial aircraft operating in Australia with more than nine passengers should be operated by two pilots.

References

* Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia: [http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/chron/2000-01/01chr02.htm|Aviation Safety Regulation Chronology 1981-2001]

ee also

* 2000 Australia Beechcraft King Air crash