Pilot, nurse dead in Sydney plane crash

The pilot of a patient transfer flight warned air traffic controllers he was losing
height and searching for somewhere to land minutes before crashing in a residential
street in southwest Sydney.
The pilot and a female nurse aboard the Piper PA-31P twin engine plane travelling
from Bankstown to Brisbane died when it crashed and exploded at Canley Vale at
8.10am (AEST) on Tuesday, 20 minutes after takeoff.
The pilot, believed to be 28-year-old Victorian Andrew Wilson, told a Bankstown
Airport air traffic controller the plane, operated by charter service group
Skymaster Air Services, was losing height as he turned back to the airport.
"We're not maintaining height here, you got any ideas ... Are there any good roads
around?" the pilot asked, according to an archived recording of the communications
on LiveATC.net.
The controller said the M7 roadway was nearby, but the pilot reported the aircraft
was still losing height.
Pilot: "...(inaudible) ... We'll have to put it down in the road."
Controller: "What about the [Warwick Farm] raceway?"
Pilot: "I can't see that, sorry."
Minutes later the plane crashed into power lines on Canley Vale Road, near Canley
Vale Public School, hit a power pole and burst into flames.
Skymaster Air Services chief executive Dieter Siewart (Siewart) said the plane was
travelling to Brisbane from Bankstown to carry out a medical transfer when it
experienced "some form of failure and had difficulty in maintaining altitude".
"We would like to be able to provide more information on the exact nature of the
accident, but little is known at this early stage," he said in a statement on
Tuesday.
"The company would like to express our deepest sympathy to the respective families
of those onboard."
Mr Wilson is believed to be a Victorian living in Sydney. No information is
available on the nurse.
Seven people, four adults and three children, were taken to Liverpool Hospital
suffering emotional distress from the scenes they witnessed.
One man was driving his car along Canley Vale Road, which is about five kilometres
from Bankstown Airport, when he spotted the plane about to collide with his vehicle.
He narrowly avoided a collision and was taken to hospital suffering from shock and
back pain from a previous injury.
An elderly woman discovered by paramedics in a distressed state a couple of blocks
away was also taken to hospital.
"Miraculously, no houses were damaged or the nearby school," Police Superintendent
Ray King told reporters.
Eighty residents, mainly children, teachers and parents from the primary school,
were evacuated from Canley Vale Road to a nearby park shortly after the crash.
Eleven fire trucks raced to the scene as burning aviation fuel ran down Canley Vale
Road, setting fire to a parked car.
Shocked resident Kevin Huynh, 33, told AAP how his house narrowly escaped being hit
by the plane.
Mr Huynh was alone in the house when he heard a massive explosion and looked out to
find his front garden on fire.
The plane, which had crashed about 10 metres from his home, was totally obscured by
thick black flames.
As Mr Huynh was jumping over his fence adjacent to the primary school to escape the
blaze, a second, louder explosion rocked the street.
"I was pretty lucky to escape," he said.
The plane took off from Bankstown Airport at 7.50am (AEST) before attempting to make
its way back.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is working with police to investigate the crash.
Police have yet to officially name the deceased.