A tragic mid-air collision between two light aircraft during a formation flight has claimed the life of one pilot near Sydney, Australia, on Sunday morning (November 30, 2025), with emergency services recovering the body from wreckage in bushland close to Wedderburn Airport in the city’s southwest. The incident, reported around 12:15 PM local time, involved two Van’s RV-7 aircraft—two-seater, single-engine homebuilt kit planes commonly used for aerobatics—from the Freedom Formation Display Team, the largest such group in the Southern Hemisphere. The planes were part of a four-aircraft formation returning to land at the private Napperfield Airfield when the crash occurred approximately 60 km southwest of central Sydney, causing one to plummet into terrain and burst into flames, while the other landed safely with its pilot unharmed. New South Wales Police established two crime scenes at the site, confirming the deceased pilot was the sole occupant of the crashed plane, with responders locating the body amid the debris. The Freedom Formation Display Team issued a statement expressing sorrow: “The Freedom Formation Team can sadly confirm that there has been an accident involving some of our aircraft today in Sydney’s southwest.” The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has immediately launched a full investigation, deploying four experienced investigators from Perth, Canberra, and Brisbane to examine aircraft operations, maintenance, engineering, wreckage, air traffic control data, flight tracking, pilot records, and weather conditions. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell stated: “One of the aircraft involved in the collision landed safely but the other aircraft collided with terrain and its pilot was fatally injured.” The bureau urged the public to avoid the area to facilitate evidence collection, with no cause yet determined—preliminary speculation points to possible spatial disorientation or mechanical issues during the aerobatic maneuvers. This incident highlights risks in formation flying, a popular activity for aviation enthusiasts in Australia, where the ATSB notes mid-air collisions are rare but often fatal due to the low-altitude nature of such flights. Similar events, like the 2023 collision near Bankstown Airport that injured two pilots, underscore the need for enhanced safety protocols in recreational flying. Authorities have ruled out foul play, focusing on technical and procedural factors, with a preliminary report expected in weeks.