All three men aboard a Cirrus SR22 died last Wednesday when the airplane crashed while attempting to land at Melbourne International Airport after a controller instructed the pilot to “cut it in tight” to avoid other traffic.
ATC audio recordings show a busy traffic pattern at the time of the crash, as well as some miscommunication between the pilot and controller. After a somewhat muffled transmission between the four-sierra-romeo crash aircraft and ATC, which makes a transmission that includes what sounds like a possible clearance to land, the crash aircraft responds with “Clear to land on nine right.”
