By ABC
Avalon International Airshow plane crashing. Photo: ABC / Paul Crock
A pilot involved in a crash at the Avalon International Airshow in Victoria on Friday remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
The pilot, Glenn Collins from Paul Bennet Airshows, based in Hunter in NSW, crashed the aircraft while conducting a demonstration at about 5:15pm on Friday.
Collins was the sole occupant of the plane, known as a Pitts Special aerobatic aircraft.
According to a biography on the Paul Bennet Airshows website, Collins is an seasoned pilot with more than 2,700 hours flying experience.
Paul Bennet Airshows said Collins was "one of our long-time Sky Aces pilots."
"The pilot is in a serious but stable condition and has been transferred to hospital for treatment," Paul Bennet Airshows said in a statement.
"Our thoughts are with his family and we are grateful for the emergency services who responded quickly.
"Our team and families appreciate the well-wishes and support."
The plane that crashed was one of four aircraft involved in an aerobatic display at the airshow when the accident occurred.
Crash witnessed by hundreds of spectators
Shaun Lenehan was in the crowd at the airshow when the crash happened a few hundred metres in front of spectators.
"Everyone stopped straight away and they rolled the fire trucks out and they kind of put a pause on everything straight away," he said.
"It looked like it could have been a fatal crash by the way it had hit the ground and disintegrated. He was pulling out of a dive so he was going quite fast."
Another spectator, Andrew Pearce, said the plane hit the ground as it was coming out of a loop.
"He didn't just nosedive, like he kind of hit his belly," he said.
"The cockpit was intact where he was but the wings were, like I don't know if they were detached from the plane, but they were like crumpled in front of the plane."
Safety bureau says investigation will take months
The chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Angus Mitchell, said investigators were almost finished examining the crash site and would now continue their investigation of the plane wreckage in a hangar.
He said investigators would look into what pilots were tasked to do for the flight display, the approvals processes leading up to it, the plane's maintenance history and the pilot's history.
Mitchell said investigators had recovered a number of recording devices from the plane, as well as mobile phone footage from the public.
"That is all very important for us in recreating what's occurred here," he told reporters on Saturday.
Mitchell said the investigation was in it's very early stages.
"I suspect it will be a number of months before we have anything to say regarding what occurred yesterday and, most importantly, is there anything else that we can work with in the industry to make sure that occurrences like this are lessened."
He encouraged anyone else with footage of the crash to submit it to the ATSB.
The airshow is resuming on Saturday after being suspended following Friday's crash. Photo: Supplied/ABC News
Airshow to continue on Saturday
Avalon Australian International Airshow CEO Justin Giddings confirmed the pilot was the only person hurt in the incident.
"The incident occurred well away from the crowds in attendance and no member of the public was injured," he said.
"The Avalon Australian International Airshow concluded the day's activities to allow the Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation team to have full and free access to the site.
"Our thoughts are with the pilot and his family, friends and team members."
The airshow is proceeding on Saturday, with gates opening at 8am, although the start of the flying display will be delayed.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said investigators would look at available flight tracking data, pilot and aircraft maintenance records and weather information.
"The ATSB asks anyone with video footage of the aircraft at any phase of the flight, or in the immediate aftermath of the accident, to make contact via the witness form on our website at their earliest opportunity."
- ABC
