Central West residents are being advised not to be startled if they spot a low-flying aircraft with unusual flight patterns in the first week of December.
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A twin-engine Cessna aircraft will be performing security checks at aerodromes in Orange, Bathurst, Dubbo, Mudgee, Parkes, Cowra, Nyngan, Forbes, Narromine, Coonamble, Cobar and Condobolin between December 2 and 9.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said local residents may notice an uncommon flying pattern, but this is to make sure obstacles are accurately marked on charts and no new obstacles exist.
“Obstacles can be towers, trees, masts or buildings that can be a danger to an aircraft,” it said.
“The checks are being conducted to ensure instrument procedure flight paths at the aerodromes continue to operate safely.
“A twin-engine Cessna Conquest aircraft will be used to carry out the safety checks within an area up to 35 kilometres from the aerodromes.”
The authority said low-level flying is an essential part of the safety exercise and the aircraft get as low as several hundred feet at times.
The regulations require these aerodrome flight path safety checks to be carried out every three years.
The security checks may be postponed to an earlier possible date in case of a bad weather.