Crash was part of the risks of training pilots, flight school says

The Cessna 152 that was damaged on landing. Photo / Bevan Conley

A minor crash in Whanganui that left a student-pilot uninjured and a plane damaged was part of the risks with training pilots, a flight school says.

In November last year, a Cessna 152 operated by the New Zealand International Commercial Pilot Academy (NZICPA) was towed off the Whanganui grass runway to its hangar after a student had an "unfortunate landing".

Academy chief executive Phillip Bedford said, back in November, the school would be "conducting a full investigation to understand what happened."

Bedford said they had looked at everything leading up to the crash and there was nothing that they could have done differently.

"It is incredibly common all over the world - even with far more experienced pilots.
"Of course, it's our goal to be incident free but that is part of the risk of training. It is not uncommon for those particular set of circumstances to happen," Bedford said.

Chief flying instructor Ray Nelson said what had happened was the pilot hit a slightly hard landing and tried to recover and unfortunately didn't have the control which meant the nose struck the ground.

"We have altered the training to make more emphasis on that but that's as much as we can do really," Nelson said.

Bedford said the damaged aircraft was leased and all costs associated with the minor incident had been covered by the owners insurance.

"The student pilot (who can't be named) completed a specific flight training program following, and has flown incident free since. That student is also about to complete their Private Pilot Licence issue flight test."

In Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) incident report it stated it was the first time the student pilot had used a grass runway.

"The student had completed their first solo flight four days prior, with an additional two dual flights in the interim.

"Following completion of the dual circuits, the instructor assessed that the student had met the standards set for further solo circuits and authorised the student for one further circuit."

The report stated that the student lacked experience to mange the bounce and over-corrected, resulting in a porpoise action and loss of control.

"Remedial training was given to the student in areas such as decision-making, going around, and circuits using a grass runway."

Whanganui District Council Holdings bought the flight school in 2015 for $800,000 and moved it from the Feilding Aerodrome to the Whanganui Airport.

It began operating in July.