A trainee pilot and his instructor have returned home with minor injuries after a light plane crash at Mona Vale Golf Club in Sydney. Brian Welch, the trainee, was flying the Piper Cherokee with instructor Ross Curracan alongside him when they encountered engine failure over the Northern Beaches. The incident occurred during their flight from Camden back to their flight school in Shellharbour.
The aircraft lost altitude rapidly before crash landing on the golf course, but both pilot and instructor remarkably emerged from the wreckage with only a few cuts and bruises. Following the crash, the golf course management faced the unusual challenge of dealing with a downed plane while ensuring that morning tee times proceeded as scheduled.
Simon Thomas, the plane’s owner, received news of the crash while attending a Swans game and expressed relief that both individuals were unharmed. He had purchased the plane just last October for his son to use for flying lessons. In response to the incident, Airspeed Flight School Shellharbour commended the instructors for their composure in a critical situation.
Sadly, the aircraft was deemed irreparable and will be taken away as scrap metal. Heavy machinery was called in to remove the wreckage, allowing for repairs to the damaged grass on the course to begin. Thomas mentioned that he would need to discuss with his wife whether they would replace the aircraft.