17th December 2014

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NEWS DESK

Parking scheme now good to go Neil Walker neil@baysidenews.com.au

The day after: Air crash investigators sift through the wreckage of the light plane in Chelsea in October. Picture: Gary Sissons

Accidents plagued plane before crash Continued from Page 1 The report said witnesses saw the plane “descending rapidly” before hitting the ground eight kilometres south of Moorabbin. The pilot – with 1659 flying hours to his credit - was fatally injured. Civil Aviation Safety Authority records show the aircraft was built in 1999 and first registered as an amateurbuilt aircraft in 2003. Mr Stephenson was its registered owner and operator. The ATSB database reveals the aircraft had been involved in two previous accidents. In 2007 it suffered engine failure and was damaged during a forced landing. A new Lycoming IO‑360 engine was installed, the damage repaired and the plane “returned to flying status”. In another landing accident in 2010 the nose wheel collapsed and the pro-

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peller hit the ground while the engine was running. It was replaced with another Lycoming IO‑360 engine, the damage repaired and the aircraft again returned to flying status. Only a month before the fatal crash the plane’s engine caught fire while it was taxiing at Moorabbin. The ATSB report states that, after the blaze was extinguished, the pilot inspected the engine and associated areas, and reported to friends that there “appeared to be no damage as a result of the fire”. Crash investigators have yet to determine the cause of the Chelsea crash, with inflight data suggesting the engine was working normally. They have yet to determine the cause of falling engine oil pressure seven seconds before the end of the recorded data when the aircraft was about 640 metres to the north of the accident site.

Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News 17 December 2014

It has been revealed that there was no emergency broadcast from the pilot, or evidence of any partial transmissions, open-microphone transmissions or over-transmissions during the flight. The investigation is continuing and will include examination of the engine and propeller, cockpit canopy locking mechanisms, construction, maintenance and repair history of the aircraft, the viability of recovering additional data from the accident-damaged GPS units, and the pilot’s medical and flying history. A CASA spokesman said the Vans RV-6A had no significant accident history. He said six fatalities from 19882010, considering all the variables involved in aircraft accidents, was “not disproportionate”.

A COMPROMISE has been reached over a parking permit scheme for Chelsea traders with a 12-month trial set to begin early next year. Some shop owners were unhappy with the details of a scheme due to begin in September so Kingston Council has decided to make “significant” changes to the plan. Traders had criticised an “excessive” $268 annual fee per parking space and questioned whether 80 car parking spaces behind the behind the Chelsea shopping centre near the Woolworths store was a sufficient number for small business owners and their staff (‘Backlash over parking permits’, The News 13/8/14). At this week’s council meeting, Cr Tamsin Bearsley said changes to the permit plan had been made after “a series of discussions with the traders”. “There was significant interest in the scheme and that’s made us change the total number of permits available from 80 to 100 and we’ll see how that goes,” Cr Bearsley said. “We’ve made a few significant changes because some of the traders said they were confused about where they were going to park and they were unhappy with the limited

number of parks available.” The new scheme – to be rolled out after the summer holiday season – will see traders offered four parking permits each for themselves and employees. Each permit will cost $200 per year. Reserved trader parking spaces will be available at the southern and northern ends of the Chelsea shopping centre car park with the central area open to shoppers. Parking restrictions for shoppers and residents will only apply 9am5pm on weekdays, not overnight or on weekends. “We believe the new restrictions strike a good balance between the needs of shoppers and staff and we will carefully monitor the success of the trial over the next 12 months,” Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill said. About ten all-day car parking spaces in the area, possibly regularly used by commuters, will be converted into 4-hour restricted spaces for shoppers. “We will continue to monitor to ensure the scheme meets both traders’ and shoppers’ needs,” Cr Bearsley said. Cr Bearsley thanked traders for their patience and asked for feedback during the 12-month trial next year.


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