Aster shootdown over Sydney in 1955
In 1955, an Auster aircraft experienced engine failure over Sydney, circling pilotless for hours. Navy shot it down to prevent disaster. Authorities praised for response. Discussions on aviation safety ensued.
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In 1955, an Auster aircraft was involved in a dramatic incident over Sydney. The pilot, Mr. Anthony Thrower, experienced an engine failure shortly after takeoff, leading to the plane becoming pilotless and circling above the city for over three hours. Various authorities were on high alert, and the Navy eventually shot down the aircraft five miles off the coast to prevent a potential disaster. The incident garnered significant media attention, with politicians raising questions about the response time and effectiveness of the defense forces. Despite initial challenges, the Navy and Air Force were commended for their handling of the situation. The event highlighted the importance of quick decision-making and coordination in emergency situations involving aircraft. The incident concluded without any casualties, but it sparked discussions about aviation safety and defense protocols.
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21 commentsThe pilot ejected due to a flat spin (just like what happened in Top Gun, RIP Goose). Now a flat spin is a kind of spin and stall that tends to happen when the center of mass and center of lift are in the same place. This can make planes very unstable. So the pilot can't recover and ejects. But this changes the center of mass on the plane, and the plane recovers on its own, and eventually lands itself in a corn field.
The plane was eventually returned to service after repairs.
Parking brakes in light training aircraft of that vintage, if they were even equipped with one, were typically a hole drilled through a metal plate, that was placed on the actuator rod for the brake master cylinder, so that the metal plate would jam on the actuator rod and hold the brakes down when you pulled on a piece of string that was tied to the metal plate. They worked similar to the tab of metal to hold open the damper of a crappy old aluminum-framed screen door.
Parking brake failure in aircraft of that era is not a million-to-one scenario, it is the default operating condition. Go down to your local general aviation airfield and peek in the window at the parking brake knob on every Cessna 150 you see, I guarantee that many of them will be placarded INOP, and many of the un-placarded ones are also actually be INOP if you tried to use them.
Here's one for sale on eBay. $300 for that bit of junk! No wonder people leave them INOP.
Early software developer?
Once, in another life time, I owned an ancient Horex Regina II 400 cc., a 1953 model and it came with Full Self Driving. To activate it, I simply had to take my hands off the wheel and rest them on the tank. It would keep going straight on its own, without intervention. If the road turned, all I had to do was turn my hips a bit and it would follow along.
...
> The harsh criticism against the Services was unfounded though and despite some initial bad luck the Navy and Air Force had performed creditably on a difficult and elusive “ENEMY”.
That was a suspiciously unconvincing conclusion. It made me check check the domain, and sure enough, "navyhistory.au". I wonder if it was even written by the same author.
They are built to fly, so they do unless something interferes.
At the time this would have been a city-wide event
Much more likely: the pilot forgot to engage the brake
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