Indian student pilots death: US aircraft to investigate crash

US experts will help authorities investigate a fatal light aircraft crash in Sydney’s southwest.
Air safety investigators began investigating the crash which killed a student pilot, believed to be an Indian national aged in his 20s, on a training flight on Wednesday.
The two-seater, low-wing Liberty XL-2 crashed into trees on a rural property in Willowdene Avenue, Luddenham, just after 4pm (AEST).
The crash instantly killed the trainee pilot from Bankstown’s Sydney Flight Training Centre.
US aircraft and engine experts will arrive in Sydney on Friday to investigate the crash.
It was the first fatality worldwide of a Liberty aircraft, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) director of aviation safety Julian Walsh said.
“A team only arrived on site this morning, so they are really doing a preliminary explanation of the wreckage and they are also starting to do interviews with some witnesses,” he said.
“We’ve got some representatives of the aircraft manufacturer and the engine manufacturer flying out from the United States.
Mr Walsh said the Liberty XL-2 was a new model of aircraft, only registered in Australia this year.
Its pilot is believed to be an Indian national, with Fairfax newspapers reporting he arrived in Australia from Mumbai in January.
The student pilot was “doing some sort of navigational exercise”, Mr Walsh said.
Sydney Flight Training Centre at Bankstown Airport is a school which caters for students from around the world seeking their commercial pilots licence.
Founder and chief pilot of the college, former navy fighter pilot and Royal Flight Doctors pilot Barry Diamond, was unavailable for comment.
25/09/08 The Age, Australia