Nose landing gear failure could have caused fatal plane crash, ATSB says

Tue 23 Jun 2026 at 11:42am

Tue 23 Jun 2026 at 11:42am

A plane crash that killed two people and left several others injured in Adelaide earlier this year could have been caused by a failure in the plane's nose landing gear, an ongoing investigation has found.

The failure has also prompted the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to issue a safety advisory notice to all operators of the Diamond DA-42 — the type of plane involved in the crash — noting there was potential for flight control interference.

On April 29, the twin-engine plane hit a hangar at Parafield Airport, in Adelaide's north, killing flight instructor Robert Hoyle and a pilot under instruction, and injuring several people on the ground shortly after 2pm on April 29.

"The failure of a nose landing gear actuator rod, as was found in this accident, is known to have caused in-flight controllability issues with this aircraft type in the past, and is one of a number of scenarios, including loss of engine power in one of the aircraft's engines, that the ATSB investigation is examining," ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

According to the safety notice, the actuator rod had fractured, with progressive fatigue cracking identified, causing steering problems.

Mr Mitchell said the purpose of the flight from Parafield Airport was to conduct simulated engine failure circuits, and while the main landing gear retracted, the nose landing gear remained extended.

"About 27 seconds after take-off and at 115 ft above ground level, the instructor made a radio call stating 'engine failure'," Mr Mitchell said.

"No further radio calls were heard from either pilot."

The ATSB's final report into the incident is expected to take about 18 months to complete.