That’s the scene of a tragic accident that occurred on a Saturday afternoon in early April close to Moruya airport on New South Wales’s south coast. A light plane crash-landed not long after eight skydivers exited the aircraft. Paul Smith, a 54-year-old pilot, had more than 20 years of flying experience. Tragically, he was the only person still aboard the aircraft in the crash’s aftermath and perished on-scene.
The catastrophic collision happened about two minutes after the skydivers left the plane, which was flying at an altitude of about 14,000 feet. Miraculously, all eight skydivers made it to the ground safely, within the airport property, and were able to walk away from the terrifying crash. Outside of his work at the Society, Smith was a former military pilot and commercial skydiving instructor. During the course of his career, he performed more than 20,000 parachuting jumps under supervision.
The home-built light aircraft was completed circa 1980. Prior to coming into Australia around six weeks before the accident, it had just completed a detailed maintenance inspection. People who saw the plane crash said it had made multiple flights without problems in the days prior to this horrific accident.
Authorities are still trying to determine how the crash occurred. Det Insp Justin Marks spoke highly of Smith, stating, “He was a very well-respected, very experienced, and very well-liked local resident.” This feeling of emptiness speaks to the profound loss felt by the community and those whom Smith trained in the skydiving profession.
Smith, who is a licensed pilot, was at the controls of the downed plane. Given this fact, it begs the question what type of mechanical failure or other incident occurred that caused the aircraft’s loss of control. The probe will probably focus closely on the plane’s airworthiness. It will conduct a thorough analysis of any issues that led to this tragic occurrence.