During the first training session of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in Perth, Australia, Brazilian pilot, Adilson Kindlemann, was involved in an accident. While manoeuvring his MXS-R race plane, approaching gate three in the middle of the race track, Kindlemann impacted the water with his wings level and tail first.
Specially trained emergency response teams rushed to the scene and rescued Kindlemann as the aircraft floated in the water, in less than one minute. He was then transported to the Royal Perth Hospital.
“Our number one priority is safety and thanks to the amazing efforts of our specialist emergency response teams, Kindlemann was rescued in less than one minute and I am pleased to confirm that Kindlemann is in good health having only suffered minor injuries. As a precautionary measure, he will be held in the Royal Perth Hospital overnight,”said Bernd Loidl CEO of Red Bull Air Race.
Brazil’s Adilson Kindlemann wanted to reassure his fans and supporters on Thursday that he was feeling fine and not seriously hurt after his MXS-R crashed at low altitude into the Swan River in Perth during a training session ahead of the weekend’s Red Bull Air Race World Championship.
Kindlemann also wanted to thank the emergency rescue crews that quickly helped him after his plane impacted the water with his wings level and tail first. Kindlemann, who was treated for a minor whiplash injury, said he hoped to be out of Royal Perth Hospital in time to watch Friday’s training sessions. He also said he appreciated the support from other Red Bull Air Race pilots.
“I feel fine,” Kindlemann said at the hospital, where he will stay overnight as a precautionary measure. “I’ve had X-rays and medicals and fortunately I’m 100 percent. The people who rescued me from the water are unbelievable. The water (rescue) training we had on Monday really prepared me for this.”
Conrad Ng, emergency physician at the Royal Perth Hospital, said: “We just wanted to make sure that he didn’t have any broken bones or any other internal injuries. I’m pleased to say that we couldn’t pick up anything, any significant injuries through our initial scan, x-rays and lab tests. Basically he’s quite alert and talking to us all the way through. And he’s obviously quite keen to get up and back into his plane.”
Kindlemann was manouevering his MXS-R, a 540-kg propeller plane, during his five-minute training session through the 6-km race course of Air Gates set up on the Swan River in Western Australia. As he was approaching Gate 3 in the middle of the track, the tail of Kindlemann’s plane touched the surface of the water. His right wing then clipped the surface and he flipped over.
“Everything happened so fast,” said Kindlemann, an airline pilot who joined the Red Bull Air Race World Championship this year with 11,000 flight hours in his logbook and 1,200 hours in competition. He was Brazil’s national acrobatics champion in the Unlimited category for three consecutive years between 2001 and 2004. “I’m not sure what happened. It all happened quickly. I’m going to have to go back and look at the video to understand what happened.”
Kindlemann said he was looking forward to getting back to racing. “For sure, let’s go,” he said. “And this time I hope to be in the air and not in the water.”
Drew Searle, race director, added: “I must say, our rescue divers, we’ve been carrying them around the world with us for some 40-something races and, you know, today they were stars, absolute stars. They got to the pilot, made sure he was okay, and did that in record time. And they got the canopy off, got him some air and got him out of the airplane. So hats off to those guys and everyone else in the safety chain. If anything we proved it is a safe sport, a safe event, and the risk-mitigating factors have been addressed. Nobody’s come out injured in any way today.”
