December 21  
A Cessna - possibly a C150 - with 2 POB has impacted the ground in a near vertical position at Drysdale south-west of Melbourne with the loss of the two on board

"Witnesses said the plane was flying at approximately 4,000 feet prior to nose-diving and crashing into the ground"



By contrast the road toll stands at 9 two days after the start of the officially recognised holiday period - over the last 2 years light aircraft fatalities have been nil

 December 16  
After 35 years as a pilot Qantas Captain Paul Holland was on his last flight into New York when, for the first time in his flying career, he had to shut down an engine

"It is ironic it should happen on my last flight, but we train for this"

The captain shut down number one engine after an apparent turbine failure

"A loud cracking noise, or bang, was heard and some passengers reported seeing a sheet of flame coming from the R-R engine"

 December 18 
A Nomad prop-jet of the Philippine Air Force has crashed into the sea off Zamboanga with one person reported as missing from 13 POB

"A witness ..saw a black smoke trailing from the tail of the plane and heard a small explosion before it plunged into the water"

The Nomad was an Australian designed and built Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) utility transport that had a production run of 172 aircraft at the Government Aircraft Factory in Victoria between 1971 and 1984

 December 17 
A single engine Cessna 210 with 5 POB hit trees after a go-around attempt on a Flinders Island airstrip in the Bass Straight

"..Cessna 210 had flown from Victoria's Latrobe Valley when it crashed on a second attempted landing just after 9:00am"

The Cessna came down adjacent to the Killiecrankie homestead's private airstrip on the island's northwest - 2 on board suffered extensive burns and broken bones while the others had broken bones and minor injuries

 December 16  
A twin-engine Britten Norman Islander has crashed shortly after take-off in a rugged part of Papua New Guinea with the loss of all 8 persons on board

"An official near the crash site walked through the night to the coast to raise the alarm the next day"

The aircraft carried the provincial government delegation that had just opened a new airstrip in the Finisterre Mountains and was returning to Madang when it slammed into a side of a mountain

 December 19  
Prosecutors in Milan, Italy have started a court case involving 77 airport employees and air traffic controllers with 11 accused of negligence for playing football during working hours

"..the defendants would regularly bully their colleagues into punching their time cards to make it look like they were at work when they really were on extended breaks"

The case was started following an incident at the Milan Linate airport last year when, during an emergency, only 11 out of 41 controllers supposedly "on duty" were actually there