Investigation launched into ‘serious incident’ involving a plane at the Bathurst 1000
- The ATSB has launched an investigation
- The plane had the Peter Brock Trophy on board
- It had hit a wall at the Mount Panorama circuit
The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an investigation after a plane delivering the Peter Brock Trophy appeared to crash into a wall at the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday.
The plane had flown in to present the trophy to fans at the Mount Panorama racing circuit and suffered a bumpy landing as the pilot tried to land it on the tarmac.
After landing, the Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 aircraft appeared to bank to the left onto a patch of grass on the left side of the runway, before turning right towards a concrete wall.
As the plane approached the wall, the pilot was seen on Fox Motorsport’s live coverage of the event swinging the nose of the plane away from the barrier.
The tail of the craft turned and made contact with the wall and some debris fell from the aircraft.
On Tuesday, the ATSB deemed the moment a “serious incident” before issuing a statement on the matter.
A plane delivering the Peter Brock Trophy for the Bathurst 1000 appeared to hit a wall as it landed on the track before the start of the race
The plane reportedly took off again, but it appeared to have suffered some damage to the rear wing, according to the Fox Sports broadcast
The aircraft would then drive safely to the edge of the runway before the trophy was delivered
‘The ATSB is investigating a collision with a barrier involving an Extra EA 300-LT, VH-XKW, approximately 10 km west-southwest of Bathurst Airport, New South Wales, on 13 October 2024.
‘After landing at the Mount Panorama race circuit, the aircraft struck a wall at the edge of the runway, causing minor damage.
‘The evidence gathering phase of the investigation involves interviewing the pilot and gathering other relevant information.
“A final report will be released at the end of the investigation. Should a critical safety issue be identified during the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties so that appropriate safety action can be taken.”
The ATSB called the incident ‘serious’ in a statement released online saying they would investigate the incident
The plane landed on the runway before hitting a concrete wall on the right side of the tarmac
Fox Sports presenter Jess Yeats said the plane was an aerobatic and one of the fastest planes of its kind in the country.
“The Bathurst Trophy is coming in now, as you can see, on board with Hayden Pullen, the pilot delivering the Peter Brock Trophy,” she said.
“He has made the journey from Penrite Racing via Sandown to Queensland and now he has landed back here in his spiritual home of Bathurst.
‘Our pilot Hayden has been flying for 25 years. The aircraft is an additional purpose-built aerobatic aircraft with a custom engine, making it the fastest aircraft of its kind in Australia and possibly the world.”
Some fans online had stated that the plane then took off again after the Peter Brock Trophy was delivered.
Fox Sports presenter Jess Yeats said the plane was an aerobatic craft and one of the fastest aircraft of its kind in the country.
Reigning Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki (right) led more than 161 laps from start to finish to win his first Bathurst 1000
“Oooof… Yeah, it wasn’t great, and it went over the audience, everything could have fallen off…” someone wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
‘It was probably not the right decision to take off again after the collision. It seemed like a major security risk. But I hope this incident won’t prevent future stunts like this,” said another.