TRANSPORT investigators will explore whether a triple-fatal midair collision between two light planes over southwest Sydney on Saturday was caused when one plane was performing "circuit work" while the other was transiting through the area from Cessnock to Wollongong.
Gary Criddle, 72, who had a remarkable career in aviation that included working as a pilot in the Royal Australian Navy, RAAF and commercially for Qantas for 36 years, has been named as one of two men onboard the Cessna 182 that took off from Cessnock bound for Shellharbour Airport.
The two planes crashed heavily into the ground, some 500 metres apart, with first responders describing the incident as "unsurvivable".
As well as Mr Criddle, a 29-year-old man onboard the Cessna that had taken off from Cessnock, and a 60-year-old man piloting the Jabiru died in the fiery crash.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is examining the crash and a team of transport safety investigators scoured both crash scenes on Sunday.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said investigators were searching the wreckage for GPS and mobile phones to determine the altitude and speed of the planes to decipher what caused the "catastrophic" crash.
He said the impact occurred in uncontrolled airspace where pilots were expected to establish separation visually and investigators would look into whether the crash occurred while one plane was doing "circuit work" and the other was transiting.
A former owner of the Jabiru, who said he crashed the plane in 2022, told Sydney media the smaller aircraft have a "blind spot behind the pilot's head".
