THE Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an investigation into a light plane crash west of Nowra on Thursday afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A 22-year-old man made a forced landing in a 1970s Cessna 206 around 33km west of the Nowra airfield, in bushland near Touga in the Morton National Park.
The initial investigation report states during cruise, the aircraft engine malfunctioned, the pilot broadcast a mayday call and activated the emergency beacon prior to conducting a forced landing, during which the aircraft collided with vegetation.
ATSB will interview the pilot and gather additional information, with a full report expected to be completed by January next year.
The man, who was the sole occupant of the plane, was travelling from Cootamundra to Bankstown when he suffered engine failure about three hours into his journey, making a distress call at 11.35pm, believing he was near Wombeyan Caves.
After crashing the aircraft in a short bushland clearing at Touga just north of Nerriga about 60km from where the initial call was made, he contacted rescue authorities on his mobile phone who were able to pinpoint his location.
The Ambulance Rescue Helicopter from Albion Park, which was searching for the downed plane, found the crash site around 1pm.
Intensive care paramedic David Zids was winched into the site and located the pilot, who miraculously escaped with minor injuries, including a cut above one of his eyebrows.
“The plane was extensively damaged,” Mr Zids said.
“It’s written off, pretty much destroyed. One of its wings ripped off, the other was impacted into trees and cracked with fuel leaking. The fuselage was broken between the cabin and the tail and the top of the cabin was a bit ripped apart.”
The pilot was treated at the scene and airlifted to Wollongong Hospital where he spent a night in hospital.
The owners of the plane were travelling to the crash scene on Friday in an attempt to salvage parts of the wreckage.