Accident Sequence
A twin-engine airplane was on a local training flight from Melbourne-Essendon Airport. On board were one instructor, a pilot under supervision, and a passenger. Shortly after departing from runway 26, the aircraft climbed to an altitude of 200 to 250 feet. At that point, the pilot under supervision retracted the wing flaps to the up position. Meanwhile, the instructor simulated an engine failure by closing the mixture control of one engine, believed to be the starboard engine. The pilot under supervision identified which engine had failed, moved the corresponding throttle to confirm, and verbally noted the actions that would be required for an actual engine failure. The relevant controls were not physically operated. After these steps, the instructor restored full engine power.
During the simulated failure, the aircraft adopted a nose-down attitude. It then descended straight ahead while under full engine power. The aircraft struck electric power cables outside the airport boundary at a height of 4.15 meters above the terrain. It subsequently crashed into houses located 286 meters beyond the western end of the runway.
Injuries and Damage
All three occupants of the aircraft suffered serious injuries. On the ground, six people were killed and one additional person was injured.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, the accident occurred because the aircraft became grossly out of trim at an altitude that allowed insufficient time for the crew to recover. The exact cause of the out-of-trim condition was not determined. While a malfunction of the trim system cannot be ruled out, the more probable cause is that the command trim switch was activated unintentionally.