Airtex Aviation
Encyclopedia
Avtex Air Services Pty Ltd, trading as Airtex Aviation, is an Australia
n aircraft charter company with its head office in a hangar on the grounds of Bankstown Airport
in the City of Bankstown
, Sydney
. Formed in 1982, the company operates passenger air charter services, airfreight, as well as air search and rescue services.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n aircraft charter company with its head office in a hangar on the grounds of Bankstown Airport
Bankstown Airport
Bankstown Airport is a general aviation airport and business park located in the City of Bankstown, from the central business district of Sydney, Australia...
in the City of Bankstown
City of Bankstown
The City of Bankstown is a city and Local Government Area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, centred on the suburb of Bankstown....
, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Formed in 1982, the company operates passenger air charter services, airfreight, as well as air search and rescue services.
Fleet
As of December 2009, the Airtex fleet consists of:- 1 Cessna 340Cessna 340|-See also:-References:* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN 0 7106-0748-2.* Taylor, John W. R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988–89. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data, 1988. ISBN 0 7106-0867-5....
- 2 Fairchild SA227-AC Metro IIIFairchild Swearingen MetrolinerThe Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
- 10 Piper PA-31-350 ChieftainPiper PA-31 NavajoThe Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
- 3 Piper PA-31P-350 MojavePiper PA-31 NavajoThe Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
- 1 Piper PA-31 NavajoPiper PA-31 NavajoThe Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
- 2 Ted Smith Aerostar 600
- 1 Ted Smith Aerostar 601P
Incidents and accidents
- On 25 June, 2001, an Airtex Aviation Embraer EMB-110P1 BandeiranteEmbraer EMB 110 BandeiranteThe Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante is a general purpose 15-21 passenger twin-turboprop light transport aircraft suitable for military and civil duties...
aircraft with nine people on board transmitted a mayday callMayday (distress signal)Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
on its approach to the airport in the town of Cootamundra, New South WalesCootamundra, New South WalesCootamundra is a town and Local Government Area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. At the 2006 census, Cootamundra had a population of 5,566. It is located on the Olympic Highway at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and...
. The pilot reported smoke in the cabin, and warned passengers to adopt the "brace position". The aircraft touched down and skidded 400 metres (437 yards) with its right engine in flames. All passengers survived the crash.
- On 9 April, 2008, at 23:30, an Airtex Aviation Fairchild Metro IIIFairchild Swearingen MetrolinerThe Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner or the Fairchild Aerospace Metro is a 19-seat, pressurised, twin turboprop airliner first produced by Swearingen Aircraft and later by Fairchild at a plant in San Antonio, Texas, United States....
aircraft took off from Sydney AirportSydney AirportSydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
in Sydney, bound for BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
with a consignment of air freight. Shortly after takeoff, ten nautical miles (18.5 km / 11.5 miles) southeast of the airport, the aircraft turned contrary to instructions from air traffic control, initially to the right when the controller had instructed a left turn. The pilot responded that he was experiencing "minor technical problems". The aircraft disappeared from radar at a height of 4,000ft (1,219 metres). Local fishermen reported seeing the aircraft burst into flames before plunging into the ocean. The wreckage was located on the seabed nine kilometres south-east of BundeenaBundeena, New South WalesBundeena is a village on the outskirts of southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bundeena is located 29km south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Sutherland Shire....
.
- On 15 June 2010, aa Airtex Aviation Piper PA-31 MojavePiper PA-31 NavajoThe Piper PA-31 Navajo is a family of cabin-class, twin-engine aircraft designed and built by Piper Aircraft for the general aviation market, most using Lycoming engines. It was also licence-built in a number of Latin American countries. Targeted at small-scale cargo and feeder liner operations and...
plane clipped power lines and crashed in Canley Vale in Sydney's south-west shortly after take-off from Bankstown AirportBankstown AirportBankstown Airport is a general aviation airport and business park located in the City of Bankstown, from the central business district of Sydney, Australia...
. The pilot and flight nurse were killed.