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An investigation into a plane crash which killed three young Victorians has found “irregular flight school practices” and the pilot’s penchant for risk-taking likely contributed to the tragedy.
Luke Smith, 20, piloted the light plane that crashed in 2024.
In 2024, Luke Smith, 20, was piloting an amateur-built light plane also carrying his 16-year-old brother, Benny, and their cousin, Dusty Daly, 15, when it stalled and then crashed into a Gippsland paddock and burst into flames, fatally injuring all occupants.
On the afternoon of November 16, 2024, the plane took off from West Sale Airport and was in the air for 17 minutes before it crashed in Tinamba West. Flight data showed the plane flew from Moorabbin Airport to West Sale Airport two days before the crash.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) on Monday released its final report into the accident and concluded unusual teaching practices at the school that taught Luke Smith, Adventure Flight Training, likely contributed to the crash.
Interviews with members of the school and a review of available records “identified a series of irregularities with the way the school trained and examined its pilots for certification”, ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
In particular, Smith’s pilot exam history revealed errors about aerodynamic stalling in some of his tests from earlier in 2024, which likely resulted in an inadequate understanding of how to cope with stalling, the investigation found.
The flight map of the plane before it crashed on November 16, 2024.Credit: Flight Radar
Smith was also counselled on several occasions for unsafe flying, but the instances were never reported to authorities or officially followed up.
“The investigation revealed a trend of risky flying behaviour by the accident pilot, which was likely compounded by inadequate knowledge from a flight training school that had developed irregular practices in the delivery of training and had inadequate supervision,” Mitchell said.
“While many people knew of the pilot’s risky flying behaviour and had attempted to counsel them, there was no evidence that any of the incidents were reported to authorities, and the counselling efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.”
The transport safety bureau revealed there were several design deficiencies in Smith’s plane which made the victims’ injuries more severe.
Benny Smith, 16, also died in the crash.
These included a lack of “energy attenuation” in the landing gear, which would have absorbed some of the crash impact, “and the installation of a fuel tank between the engine and instrument panel that ruptured and caused the post-crash fire”, Mitchell said.
“These characteristics within the design of the aircraft, in this case, increased the risk of occupant injuries, and I would urge amateur builders and designers to consider these factors for their own aircraft,” he said.
Dusty Daly, 15, was the cousin of Luke and Benny Smith.
The investigation also revealed shortcomings by Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus), which issues recreation pilot licences and oversaw the Adventure Flight Training school.
Although RAAus administered the examination system at the school, it had “inadequate controls to mitigate the irregular examination practices identified at the flying training school”, the transport safety bureau found.
Its investigation found that as Luke Smith received his recreation pilot licence from RAAus, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority subsequently granted him a full pilot licence.
Three months before the crash, RAAus identified problems with Adventure Flight Training and suspended the company’s chief flying instructor, which meant the flight school stopped operating.
In the days after the Smith brothers and their cousin died, their families said it was heartbreaking to lose three treasured young men.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this loss, and we ask for your understanding as we focus on supporting one another during this challenging period,” the Smith and Daly families said in a statement at the time.
“We are grateful for the love and support from friends, family, and the community at large.”
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