Deceased
Maxwell Charles Quartermain, Greg De Haven, Glenn Alan Garland, John Washburn, Russell Langford Munsch
Demographics
male
Date of death
2017-02-21
Finding date
2022-09-30
Cause of death
Multiple injuries sustained in an air crash resulting from loss of controllability due to rudder trim being in full nose-left position at takeoff
AI-generated summary
Five people died in a Beechcraft King Air aircraft crash at Essendon Airport, Victoria on 21 February 2017. The aircraft took off but almost immediately veered left, climbed to only 160 feet, then descended and collided with a retail building. Investigation established the rudder trim tab was in 'full nose-left' position at takeoff, severely compromising controllability. The pilot likely failed to notice this during pre-flight checks or during subsequent required checklist items, or possibly inadvertently left it in this position after a function test. While the pilot had extensive flying experience, evidence suggested declining attention to checklist discipline. The coroner found inadequate checklist usage was the key preventable factor—proper checklist discipline would very likely have averted the crash. The coroner also noted concerns about CASA's investigation procedures following an earlier Mount Hotham incident involving the same pilot in 2015.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Specialties
Error types
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Source and disclaimer
This page reproduces or summarises information from publicly available findings published by Australian coroners' courts. Coronial is an independent educational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any coronial court or government body.
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