Pilot Dies in Crop Duster Crash in Hyden, Australia

The pilot was the sole occupant of a crop-dusting plane that crashed just outside the town of Hyden in Western Australia on Friday, October 18, 2013. He unfortunately did not survive the crash.

The crop-duster went down just before 3PM in the afternoon about 4.5 miles outside of Hyden. It crashed into a paddock near Chalk Hill and Hyden-Lake King Roads. Emergency response took just ten minutes to arrive, but the pilot was dead when they arrived and likely died at impact, although no official reports have been released.

Hyden is about 180 miles southeast of Perth in Western Australia with a population of just 281 people per the most recent census. Situated in a largely agricultural area of Australia, the wheat crop continues to be a major source of revenue. Although no aircraft details have been released, the most common crop-duster planes in use in Australia are the PAC Cresco, the Lockheed Lodestar, and the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor.

No official word on the cause of the crash has been reported. Weather in Hyden at the time was very fair, with clear, sunny skies and a moderate temperature of 81 degrees, so meteorological causes would appear unlikely. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating and will issue its findings when the examination of the craft and the remains is completed.

https://www.planecrashes.org/pilot-dies-in-crop-duster-crash-in-hyden-australia.html