Coroner's Finding: Langford, Samuel Peter and Jones, Timothy Peter
Deceased
Samuel Peter Langford and Timothy Peter Jones
Demographics
male
Date of death
2014-12-29
Finding date
2017-07-21
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in aircraft crash caused by pilot error (aircraft stall during steep turn at extremely low altitude)
AI-generated summary
Two men died in a Cessna 172S aircraft crash in Storm Bay, Tasmania on 29 December 2014. The pilot (Mr Langford) and photographer passenger (Mr Jones) were conducting low-level aerial photography of Sydney to Hobart yacht race participants when the aircraft stalled during a steep banking turn at approximately 50 feet altitude. Both men sustained fatal multiple blunt trauma injuries. The crash was caused by pilot error—the aircraft was flying at an exceptionally low height where recovery from a stall was impossible, violating Civil Aviation Regulations prohibiting flight below 150 feet. Weather conditions were benign and the aircraft was mechanically sound. This case illustrates the critical importance of altitude margins for stall recovery and adherence to aviation safety regulations during operational flying.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Pilot flying at exceptionally low altitude (approximately 50 feet) in violation of Civil Aviation Regulations
- Insufficient altitude to recover from aeronautic stall
- Steep banking turn (over 45 degrees) during low-level flight
- Operational decision to maintain low altitude for photography purposes
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