Two people have been killed and 10 others have been taken to hospital – some with serious injuries – after a twin-engined aircraft crashed into a hangar at Parafield Airport in north Adelaide on Wednesday
Two people have been killed and 10 others have been rushed to hospital after a small plane crashed into a hangar at an Australian airport.
The Diamond DA42 twin-engined aircraft burst into flames at Parafield Airport in north Adelaide as it was attempting to land at about 2.10pm local time (5.40am BST) on Wednesday.
Police said the two people killed were the pilot and the passenger, while the 10 injured were ground crew inside the hangar at the time. The crash caused a huge fire, which has since been extinguished. Thick black smoke was seen in the area, and locals were urged to stay indoors and keep all windows and doors shut.
“Shortly after take-off, [the plane] has tragically crashed into hangar 54 at the airport,” Chief Inspector Andrew McCracken told reporters at the scene. “Upon collision, that has obviously [caused] significant injuries and fire and damage.”
He said one person suffered life-threatening “serious and significant burns” and was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, while two others were hospitalised with serious injuries. Another suffered minor injuries and six people experienced smoke inhalation. All those injured were in the hangar at the time of the crash.
“A tragic situation for both the pilot and the passenger, also for the local Parafield community, which is close-knit,” Ch Insp McCracken added.
Ben, who was near the airport at the time of the crash, told ABC Radio Adelaide: “It looks like a large fire in an aeroplane hangar. I’ve seen multiple fire trucks going through – this is probably the fifth one now – and multiple emergency services heading out there. It’s pretty big.”
“You could see the gable in the front doors of the hangar billowing out black smoke, just coming out. Couldn’t see flames but it was quite large – you could see some sort of fuel,” he added.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said an investigation would be launched. “The ATSB has deployed a team of transport safety investigators from its Canberra and Brisbane offices, specialising in aircraft operations, maintenance and engineering, human factors and survival factors,” he said.
“They will arrive on site on Thursday morning, and over coming days will conduct a range of evidence-gathering activities, including site and wreckage examination, and recovery of any aircraft components of interest for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra.”
