General News
1 October, 2025
ATSB releases report into Robbie Katter's recent plane crash
The federal body says there is no need to do a thorough investigation, based on information provided by the MP.
The federal aviation watchdog has released a report into Robbie Katter’s most recent plane crash, although it says it won’t be personally investigating the Mount Isa incident.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau this week released its findings into the crash involving the Member for Traeger’s plane.
It said that based on evidence provided by Mr Katter, pilot error was to blame, with the leader of Katter’s Australia Party “mistakenly moved the landing gear lever from the down to the up position”.
“On 20 August 2025, a Mooney M20J, with a pilot and two passengers on board, was landing at Mount Isa Airport, Queensland, following a private flight,” the report said.
“The pilot reported that, at the time, the wind was gusty with some crosswind on the airport’s single runway. After discontinuing the first landing attempt, the pilot circled and conducted a second approach, targeting a landing speed of 65-70 knots.
“Subsequently, the aircraft landed and began to decelerate. Consistent with their normal procedure, the pilot raised the flap and turned off the fuel pump.
“The pilot reported that they then mistakenly moved the landing gear lever from the down to the up position. As a result, the landing gear started to retract while the aircraft was on the runway.
“Recognising the situation, the pilot applied full power and raised the nose, resulting in the aircraft becoming airborne again. The aircraft banked left and climbed briefly before the pilot lowered the nose.
“The aircraft subsequently impacted the ground to the left of the runway and slid for several metres before coming to a stop. The pilot and passengers exited the aircraft without injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged.”
The ATSB said decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, were “based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation”.
“For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information,” the federal agency said.
“A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.”
The ATSB said the aircraft’s maintenance manual stated that the aircraft was equipped with an airspeed‑activated landing gear safety system that was designed to “prevent the gear from retracting when the aircraft was below 60 kt (±5 kt) indicated airspeed and airspeed was increasing”.
“The manual further advised that when landing, the system may not engage until below 50 kt, and could allow the landing gear to retract if the gear switch was placed in the up position during the landing roll,” it said.
Mr Katter, his wife Daisy, and his parliamentary chief of staff Cameron Parker, walked away from the crash without any reportable injuries.
They had been returning to Mount Isa from Normanton after the long-time MP had spent several days in the Gulf visiting communities in his electorate.
The August 20 incident was the second time the KAP leader had crashed his plane. In 2023, he was flying from Charters Towers to Mount Isa when he forgot to put the landing gear down moments before touching down.
He said it was too late to abort the landing, and his Mooney M20J landed on its undercarriage and skidded 50 metres before coming to a standstill.
