[Roosta]

Getting Reports of a Team Member from Paul Bennets Airshow going in.

Apparently, the plane hit the turf, but the Pilot Survived because the belly of the plane took the brunt of the impact which saved his life.

Looking for more info.

[Roosta]

Stunt pilot remains in hospital after 'horrific' Avalon Airshow crash.

A pilot who crashed during a demonstration flight at Avalon International Airshow in Victoria is in a serious but stable condition in hospital, his team have said in a statement.

The aircraft, piloted by Glenn Collins from Paul Bennet's Airshows team, lost control while performing a manoeuvre and crashed into the tarmac just after 5pm yesterday, leaving "pin drop" silence across the thousands in the crowd.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators flew in from nation's capital to investigate the catastrophic accident, as planes took to the sky again today.

The accident played out in front of thousands at Australia's biggest airshow at Avalon Airport on Friday, when a performance involving four aerobatic planes took a terrifying turn.

Vision from the scene shows the aircraft slamming into the ground, something Herald Sun photographer David Caird saw through his lens.

"I couldn't believe what I was seeing, neither could the crowd around me," Caird told 9News.

"It was like hearing a pin drop. I think just everyone was holding their breath, wondering if he was going to be alright."

Pilot Glenn Collins crashed during a demonstration flight at Avalon International Airshow in Victoria
Pilot Glenn Collins crashed during a demonstration flight at Avalon International Airshow in Victoria.

Families with young children were also left in disbelief.

"There were a couple of kids around us that were quite traumatised," witness Matt Jaques told 9News.

"There was one bawling his eyes out and mum was crying. Like it was pretty horrific."

Gasps could be heard from the crowd of thousands as the plane hit the ground.

"He had broken off from the other three, and on the second loop, he just nose-dived," witness Jess Wright told Weekend Today.

"We all just stood up, and it was just silent. There was a little bit of a gasp, then silence."

Behind the controls was veteran pilot Glenn Collins, who survived the accident, but sustained injuries to his upper and lower body and was airlifted to the Alfred Hospital.

Collins, a member of the Paul Bennet Airshows team with decades of experience, is also champion of multiple competitions.
Collins, a member of the Paul Bennet Airshows team with decades of experience, is also champion of multiple competitions.

Collins, a member of the Paul Bennet Airshows team with decades of experience, is also champion of multiple competitions.

"Remarkable skill of him, he didn't hit nose first, he was able to pull up a little bit and hit belly down," Jaques said.

Collins has more than 2700 hours of flying experience and has previously won aerobatics competitions throughout his career, according to a biography on the Paul Bennet Airshows website.

Australian Transport Safety Investigators (ATSB) are now working to determine what went wrong.

The debris field is spread over 150 metres and just 200 metres from the crowd.

"It will take us some time to go through piece-by-piece what is there," ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said on Saturday.

"We certainly we do learn from incidents like this."

After the crash, the rest of Friday evening's program was cancelled as emergency services rushed to the pilot's aid.

Organisers met late into the night before deciding the show could safely continue today.

"I'm very satisfied, this is the 16th air show, this is the most serious incident we've every had," AMDA Foundation CEO Justin Giddings said.

"We've never had a fatality."

The plane has now been towed to a hanger at Avalon Airport where investigators from ATSB will continue assessing the plane over the weekend.

Collins' condition has now stabilised with his family by his side in hospital.

Paul Bennet Airshows said in a statement that it will "no longer be performing at the Avalon Australian International Airshow but we hope the public continue to enjoy the world class event".

The six-day event is the largest international airshow and aerospace and defence exposition in the Southern Hemisphere.

The event is set to conclude on Sunday evening.

[Roosta]

Crash Vid.

[kellyhound]

At least he survived Uploaded vids to the OP.

[UglyPilot]

I was there at the grand stand, as soon as these planes taxied out to start their show, I decided to take break from sitting there too long, wanted to stretch our legs a bit, get drinks etc.

All of a sudden we were surrounded by this eery quietness, no music etc. Announcer said there's been an incident and told us to standby for further information, we were behind grandstand at this point and we're thankful that my wife and son didn't get to witness the crash as that would traumatise them...

Anyway we went back up to our seats and with my binocs I can see mangled wreck of that orange colored plane, after about 20 minutes announcer says the pilot is serious but stable condition and everyone started clapping and cheering! That was the highlight of this overpriced airshow for me

[volleyballbat]

Every each of those clowns deserve their destiny. Doesn't matter how many thousand flying hours they have had, the reaper man will come in one point... That's just a plain stupid profession.

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by UglyPilot ↗

I was there at the grand stand, as soon as these planes taxied out to start their show, I decided to take break from sitting there too long, wanted to stretch our legs a bit, get drinks etc.

All of a sudden we were surrounded by this eery quietness, no music etc. Announcer said there's been an incident and told us to standby for further information, we were behind grandstand at this point and we're thankful that my wife and son didn't get to witness the crash as that would traumatise them...

Anyway we went back up to our seats and with my binocs I can see mangled wreck of that orange colored plane, after about 20 minutes announcer says the pilot is serious but stable condition and everyone started clapping and cheering! That was the highlight of this overpriced airshow for me

I was going to go this year as I have missed a few, but decided against the drive from QLD with all the wild weather around so just wanted to make sure that the house was Ok.

I must say that I had a premonition earlier in the week leading up to the show that there would be an accident & sure enough, one went in, but he took the brunt of the force on the belly which ultimately saved his life !

IMO, He will be back next year for sure as it will help take the tarnish of the perfect record at Avalon & reinspire the public to start going back.

I'm happy for you that your family is safe & that they didn't actually see the crash as you rightfully said that it would traumatise them for years & IMO, even put them off flying off for holidays ect.

I hear Glenn Collins is in a stable condition so that's good news for him & his family who were there no doubt & witnessed the crash, so good news all round !

[durt]

No explosion, fire

[Roosta]

That's a good thing !