Residents report low-flying aircraft

Residents of Umina living on the ridges near Brisbane Water National Park have reported an aircraft flying 100 feet above their houses at about 6.40pm on the evening of Tuesday, June 17.

One resident said that he suspected it was a military aircraft.

Flight Lieutenant Phil Larkin from Amberley RAAF base near Brisbane said that there was one F-111 in the area on the day heading from Sale in Victoria back to Amberley, but it was near the Peninsula earlier, around 5.50pm.

He said that it was flying "coastal" to the east of the Woy Woy Peninsula, not along the ridges to the west of the Peninsula.

He also said that "coastal" flying was not done at such low altitudes.

"You must appreciate that these aircraft travel at incredible speed, so by 18.40 hours, the plane would be well inside Queensland," Flight Lieutenant Larkin said.

Wing Commander Geoff Patchett from Williamtown RAAF base said that none of their aircraft were in the air on the night in question.

"Generally the height restriction is 500 feet above ground level, not the actual distance from the ridges, they need to be able to get into the valleys to avoid radar.

"It is good that the public gives us feedback so that we know if someone's been doing the wrong thing."

A representative of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said that in order to tell if it was a civil aircraft, CASA would need a description or the plane or a registration number.

Another CASA spokesman later said that after extensive investigation, no civil jet aircraft had been found to be in the area at the time.

He also added that he had a military background and he thought that if an F-111 went over at 100 feet, it would have been at high power, causing windows to break on houses and "horses to bolt into trees".

A resident said that the aircraft was loud enough to cause his dog to panic.

Jonathan Reichard, June 25