Flight Safety Australia - Close calls: Recent Episodes
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is a government body that regulates Australian aviation safety. We license pilots, register aircraft and oversee safety.
Flight Safety Australia reader Nic Barnes discovers conditions are different in northern Australia.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/03/a-brutal-hazing/
Audio adds a new dimension to this anonymous first officer's close call, first published in 2021.Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2025/05/positive-climb/
The elements humble a newly qualified pilot.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/03/earth wind and water/
This is a story of ice. Not ice you put in a drink. Not ice that forms on an aircraft, but ice that can frighten and kill a pilot.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/10/tropical-chilll/
Unpleasant close encounters as a low-hours commercial licence fledgling taught this now experienced airline transport pilot some lasting lessons.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/07/casa-close-call-head-on-a-swivel/
A quick glance suggested everything would be okay – this was an expectations-driven illusion.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/07/casa-close-call-bogged-down-in-assumptions/
In Greek mythology, the sirens' seductive voices lured mariners to their deaths. In modern aviation, the siren is pilot fixation, as Luke Bayly was lucky enough to discover early in his training.
A recreational pilot's first flight after learning the basics of navigation unravels into an embarrassment that could have been a disaster.
The tiniest change of heading took this pilot out of his comfort zone.Read this close call at: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2024/02/planning-for-remote-possibilities/
Sticking to a rigid schedule when circumstances have changed is the opposite of safe flight planning.Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/12/i-didnt-plan-on-that/
This newly minted instructor was jolted out of his complacency by an unexpected thunderstorm. Read the close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/01/they-say-it-never-strikes-twice/
A first officer becomes a mere spectator to poor cockpit decision-making and feels the cold hand of fear. Read the close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/10/the-ice-bucket-challenge/
He was heading straight for disaster with 2 passengers on board, when something clicked in. Hear how one pilot learnt his limitations and strengths. Read the close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/09/dog-legs-and-goat-tracks/.
Subtle psychological pressures and an unintentional signal almost killed this experienced flier in the first hours of their career.
A private pilot reflects on an early flight and how they would do things differently now. https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/06/alice-through-the-looking-glass/
A gliding incident is the culmination of factors, including ergonomics, maintenance and pilot action. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2021/07/decision-or-design/
A paraglider pilot’s skills and drills are tested to the limit on her very first time in the air. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2021/07/maiden-flight/
Weather affects short flights and long ones equally, as this pilot found out. I hadn’t ever been so glad to feel the earth beneath my wheels as I did when my aircraft touched the runway after this flight.Read this Close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/02/what-did-i-think-i-was-doing/
Despite all good intentions, a pilot ends up in a nightmare situation. Self-analysis follows a lucky escape.Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2023/05/stuck-on-top/
Having purchased a Piper Warrior, endorsements for manual propeller pitch control and retractable undercarriage were straightforward. The next issue that seemed worthwhile addressing was the deadline imposed on VFR pilots by last light. So I embarked on a night VFR endorsement. The darkness of regional Australia at night proves to be more than a match for a city slicker’s night VFR rating.
Some years ago, I was involved in an incident that nearly resulted in a mid-air collision. It happened in the vicinity of the Archerfield Southern Training Area during a training session that I was conducting in a Cessna 172...Read this Close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/03/too-close-for-comfort
In this unexpected and scary incident, the pilot reaches for something familiar to use in an unusual way.Read this Close Call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/11/belting-along/
Recent la Niña rainfall has amplified a longstanding aviation hazard, as Steve Blackie discovered.
Read this Close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/10/water-water-everywhere/
Recreational pilot Luke Bayly discovers the reasons for the seemingly endless drills of his initial training.
Read this Close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/09/when-efato-calls/
An encounter with lenticular cloud literally shook this pilot out of complacency
Read this Close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/08/no-getting-over-it/
Pressure drove this pilot towards an error, discipline allowed for a recovery.
Read the full story at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/08/trim-set-mindset/
A newly minted rating, a blandly confident low-hours pilot, time pressure and a desire to impress. What could possibly go wrong?
Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/06/fear-for-lunch/
A pilot flying at an incorrect level in a busy lane making garbled radio calls creates a wake of confusion and danger. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2022/05/taking-the-low-road/
A pilot listens to their nagging doubt, and makes a horrifying discovery. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2021/12/twisting-the-blade/
Rising terrain, worsening visibility and the smell of smoke in the cockpit. ’I couldn’t believe I’d found myself in this situation.’
How ‘marginal but do-able,’ turned into a sobering lesson for an eager pilot who was unaware of being subtly overconfident.
A mustering pilot experiences the longest five minutes of his life: ‘I was under no illusions. I knew the engine was going to seize.’
Pilot Michael Ralph’s graphic retelling of an all-too-common VFR occurrence. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2019/07/his-story-almost-history/
A pilot has to make quick decisions after the airspeed indicator fails. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2020/04/nothing-on-the-clock/
A series of small decisions, none harmful in isolation created a terrifying situation by the end of the day. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2018/10/avoid-assumptions-without-confirmation/
How heat and stress incubated a horrifying human error. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2018/07/valuable-lesson-learned/.
An aviation professional shudders to recall but draws lessons from an accident in his callow youth. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2018/05/past-the-point-of-no-return/
Skydivers are often asked why they'd want to jump out of a perfectly good aeroplane, but what if it wasn't perfect? Read more at www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2018/02/fully-loaded-and-going-fast/
I’ve held a VFR private pilot’s licence since 1988 and have around 1100 hours in command. Recently, I was involved in an incident, which could’ve ended in tragedy. Read more at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2017/07/the-hills-are-alive/
It’s the Easter weekend. The weather’s perfect, skies are clear and my mate Kevin and I are in the cockpit of my beloved Kitfox 3 ‘rag and tube’ light plane. We’re at 5000 ft and heading east for Kalgoorlie, 590 km away. Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2017/05/easter-road-trip/.
A hangar story that could easily have been a front-page newspaper story.
Read via Flight Safety Australia at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2017/03/down-to-the-last-drop/
How a recreational pilot found himself loaded with fuel without a drop to spare. Read this close call at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/09/the-devil-in-the-detail/
This newly instrument rated pilot was as happy as a warthog in elephant dung. I was flying old, but still shiny, twin pistons for a living; and Zimbabwe was now a relatively peaceful country with a new name and what looked like a bright future, now that the Bush War was over! Life was good.
Read the full story at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/07/out-in-africa/
How secure is your cockpit and cabin? Is everything stowed safely, but still readily available if needed? Read this close call at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/05/what-you-dont-find-can-kill-you/
A hang glider tells how fatigue and human factors almost had disastrous outcomes. Read the full article at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/03/undone-over-gulgong/
This is a story about the time that I let commercial pressures get in the way of my personal margins, and learnt the value of boundaries the hard way.
You can read this close call at http://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2016/01/the-rule-of-three/
'Pressing on into an approaching storm-front, then going into low level ‘turn and run’ mode; this was as close to a terminal accident in a light aircraft as I ever want to get.'
Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2015/07/running-from-the-storm/
Listen to a pilot's first-hand account of a close call where unbalanced freight nearly brought down a ATR 72-212 cargo flight. (Image: © ATR | Barthe Pierre) Read this close call at https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2015/05/freight-forward/
Listen to this close call experienced by a military helicopter pilot while flying a Bell UH-1H for the RAAF near Townsville.
For the first time, Flight Safety Australia brings it's popular 'close calls' in audio format, allowing you to listen and experience a near miss like never before.
Read this close call and more by visiting: www.flightsafetyaustralia.com