Triple-fatal plane crash 'likely' followed instructor's mid-air rule breach

A flying instructor who died along with two young pilots in a light plane crash near the Murray Mouth earlier this year had a history of unreported breaches relating to mid-air spinning manoeuvres, the transport safety watchdog has found.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has handed down its final report into the fatal crash near Goolwa beach, south of Adelaide, and found it was "likely" the instructor had entered a spin for which the plane had not been approved.

Three men — 53-year-old instructor Leo Howard, from Morphett Vale, 18-year-old Freeling local Tristan Scheffers and a 20-year-old from Pasadena — died when the single-engine Cessna 210N spiral-dived into the water in the Long Bay area on February 6.

One of the two younger men held a commercial pilot licence, while the other held a recreational pilot licence, and the purpose of the flight had been to give one of them experience in the Cessna.

In its findings, the ATSB concluded the instructor, Mr Howard, had likely entered a spin to give the pilot a chance to practise recovery.

But it also found that Mr Howard had a "history of spin activity violations" that had not been reported to the aircraft's operator or the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

"It was likely that the instructor conducted a spin entry for the purpose of the pilot practising the spin recovery actions, which was conducted in an aircraft that was not approved for intentional spins and from which a fully developed spin could be difficult to recover,"

the report stated.

"After entering the spin, it was likely that the pilot in the left seat mishandled the recovery during the incipient spin phase and the instructor did not intervene in sufficient time to prevent the aircraft entering a fully developed spin and recover within the height available.

"The instructor had a history of spin activity violations from which they successfully recovered during the incipient phase, which likely provided them with the confidence to progressively lower the entry height they were using."

'Barriers to reporting unsafe flying'

The ATSB said the investigation highlighted the need for strong measures to overcome "reluctance to report unsafe behaviour" in the sector.

On the day of the crash, the plane had left Goolwa Airport and had been following the coast towards the mouth of the River Murray.

Twelve minutes into the flight it entered a rapid descent, with witnesses later describing a steep spiral before the plane hit the water.

The ATSB said Mr Howard had been approved to deliver spin and aerobatics training in 2009, but that there had been a history of student complaints about him at another operator, at Aldinga Airport, and that he had been involved in a "near collision" in 2022.

After inspecting data and onboard video from previous flights for evidence of violations, the ATSB concluded that the instructor had conducted at least six mid-air spins, including during flights in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

In one of those, a pilot told the instructor the plane "could not be used for spinning [but] the instructor replied that the aircraft was certified for spinning and therefore they would do it", the ATSB said.

"The pilot subsequently became nauseous from the upset recovery exercises, which included multiple stalls, spins and spiral dives, and did not complete any circuits on return to the airport,"

it said.

"Consequently, the instructor did not certify the flight review as completed."

The ATSB said because the violations had gone unreported, "no action was taken to stop these activities".

"Other pilots who knew about the unauthorised spins were reluctant to report them, including because they felt powerless to act or believed it was not their responsibility," ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said in a statement.

"This highlights the importance of designing and promoting reporting systems that recognise and address barriers to reporting unsafe flying practices."