Adelaide, Australia: A trainee pilot from Adelaide Aviation flight school walked away uninjured after the light aircraft he was flying crashed and burst into flames at Parafield Airport in Adelaide’s northern suburbs on Monday afternoon, authorities and eyewitness accounts confirmed. The sole occupant of the aircraft was identified as a 21-year-old student pilot Youngin Kim, who walked away uninjured.
The single-engine aircraft reported to be a Cessna 172 experienced a heavy landing during a solo training circuit at about 12:30 pm local time before erupting into flames and sending thick black smoke across the airport grounds.
Emergency crews from Parafield Airport and South Australia Police responded within minutes, containing the fire that had also spread to nearby grassland. No other aircraft were involved, and there were no injuries apart from damage to the aircraft.
A spokesperson for Adelaide Aviation said the trainee was “very lucky” to walk away unscathed. Sherman Anthoney, representing the flight school based at Parafield Airport, told the media the incident was an extremely rare and sobering reminder of the hazards that can occur even in routine flight training environments.
Parafield Airport operators confirmed that runway 21L remained closed temporarily following the incident, but the airport’s remaining runways continued to support general aviation traffic.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has been notified and is gathering information about the circumstances of the accident. Official releases from the ATSB are pending, but standard procedure includes reviewing maintenance records, pilot training logs and recorded communications to determine causal factors.
