August 16
A Mooney with only the Pilot on board has impacted the sea while attempting to land at Caloundra after a night flight from Cobar in the central west of NSW

The M20K Turbo-charged Mooney carried out a low-level overfly of his home to notify his family that he had returned from a hard days work in the west

Witnesses reported that they saw an aircraft impact the sea and catch fire around the same time (2000hrs)

August 19
Searchers located the main section of the turbo-charged Mooney with the body of the pilot inside 3 days later

'Spatial Disorientation' is the most likely reason for the accident caused by the low-level pull-up coupled with a dark featureless horizon



Comment:- It is the News Desk opinion that Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith encountered a similar 'Disorientation' while flying Lady Southern Cross over the Bay of Bengal in 1935