Seaplane Down In The Hawksberry River

[Brian Noldt]

A seaplane has come down in the Hawksberry River near Cowan.
A seach is under way for the aircraft which has a reported up to 6 people on board.

Story here:

http://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/light-plane-crashes-on-hawkesbury-river-with-up-to-six-people-on-board/news-story/76ca6845b9b206cff8ed3712ccadfe22

[Greg Hyde]

ABC News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-31/sea-plane-has-crashed-into-the-hawkesbury-river-nsw/9295610

[MarkR]

Looks like a Beaver, not a caravan going by the door wreckage.

[Greg Hyde]

Reportedly, a DHC-2 Beaver Seaplane, VH-NOO.

3 bodies recovered

Aircraft on bottom of river with wings dug into mud.

Waterborne crane on the way from Brooklyn to assist in the recovery of aircraft.

[MarkR]

Terrible news with confirmation of 6 fatalities, R.I.P. 1963 aircraft suddenly going in during what I presume is VFR conditions could Have a number of obvious causes, time will tell.

[Greg Hyde]

From ATSB facebook

***UPDATED at 6.15pm***

The ATSB is investigating the fatal collision with water involving a single-engine seaplane at Cowan Creek, Hawkesbury River, NSW this afternoon.
Preliminary facts and circumstances as they are believed to be as at 6.00pm on 31 December 2017:

At around 3.00pm this afternoon, a DHC-2 Beaver Seaplane, VH-NOO, operated by Sydney Seaplanes was flying in the vicinity of Jerusalem Bay (near Cottage Point).

It is understood that there was one pilot and five passengers on the aircraft on a return flight to Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour.

The sequence of events leading up to the accident are not yet understood, however following the impact with the water, the aircraft is reported to have sunk rapidly.

The ATSB's Executive Director Transport Safety Nat Nagy and a team of three Transport Safety investigators are travelling to the accident site and will commence their work to determine the causal factors surrounding this tragic accident once the NSW Police activities have concluded.

The ATSB encourages anyone who witnessed the accident to call 1800 020 616 and register their details.

The ATSB will aim to release a preliminary factual report in approximately 30 days.
A final report into the accident may take up to 12 months to complete. However, should a safety issue be identified during the course of the investigation, the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties.

[Brian Noldt]

From BBC news

Unconfirmed reports say the casualties included an 11-year-old boy, the pilot and four British nationals. The single-engine aircraft belonged to sightseeing flight company Sydney Seaplanes.

An eyewitness, Myles Baptiste, told the broadcaster 9News that the plane was 500m (1,640ft) from him when it hit the water.
"It made a tight right-hand turn and as it actually turned around, the wings dipped and it nosedived straight into the water," he said.
A woman at the scene told local TV the weather had been "a bit bumpy" but "nothing to be concerned about".

[Greg Hyde]

Hawkesbury River seaplane crash: Officials work to recover wreckage as investigation continues

Transport safety investigators will this morning begin work to recover the wreckage of a seaplane that crashed into the Hawksbury River in New South Wales yesterday.

All five passengers and the pilot of the light aircraft died when it crashed into the waters of Jerusalem Bay near Cowan, north of Sydney, at 3:15pm.

Police said they were investigating whether the sea plane was attempting to make an emergency landing before the crash.

Witnesses said they saw the seaplane take a sharp turn and then nosedive into the bay, near where people were water-skiing and picnicking on the banks of the river.
British media is reporting that at least four of the victims are UK nationals and include an 11-year-old boy.

Authorities said they were still trying to make contact with the victims' families.

"Officials from the British Consulate are in contact with local authorities in relation to a seaplane accident near Sydney," a statement from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.

"We stand ready to provide consular assistance," it said.

Full story

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-01/hawkesbury-river-seaplane-crash:-recovery-effort-begins/9296128

[Brian Noldt]

The passengers and pilot, including the 11 year old girl, have been named.

A tragic loss to a family on holiday enjoying our beautiful country as well as the pilot.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-01/hawkesbury-river-seaplane-crash-victims-confirmed/9296638

[Greg Hyde]

Updated:

Hawkesbury River seaplane: 11yo girl among six victims killed in New Year's Eve crash

A British family on holidays, including an 11-year-old girl, was killed when a seaplane on a New Year's Eve joyride crashed into the Hawkesbury River, police have confirmed.

Six people — five British passengers and the 44-year-old pilot Gareth Morgan — lost their lives when the aircraft, operated by the Sydney Seaplanes charter company, crashed into the river near the town of Cowan, north of Sydney.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-01/hawkesbury-river-seaplane-crash-victims-confirmed/9296638

[Greg Hyde]

Collision with water involving a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft, VH-NOO, at Cowan Creek, NSW on 31 December 2017

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/aair/ao-2017-118/

An attempt will be made tomorrow (Thursday) to raise the aircraft.

Initial reports are that the aircraft is inverted with floats and a wing detached.

[Greg Hyde]

Hawkesbury River seaplane crash: Craft once used as a crop duster and had been 'destroyed'

The seaplane that crashed in the Hawkesbury River on New Year's Eve, killing six people, has been recovered by police divers.

The main body of the 55-year-old de Haviland DHC-2 Beaver, including the engine, the front propeller and the tail, has been lifted out of the water.

The wreckage has been lowered onto a barge and it has been covered with a tarpaulin due to the sensitive nature of the operation.

All parts, including the plane's floats which were already recovered, will be taken to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in Canberra for analysis.

Earlier it was revealed in a report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau that the craft was "destroyed" in a fatal accident 20 years ago.

Full story and video or recovery

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-04/seaplane-crashed-hawkesbury-river-destroyed-20-years-ago/9303448

Looks like the prop was not spinning on impact (engine failure)

[Martin Buzzell]

I thought the way one of the prop blades was bent, it was spinning.

[Nigel C]

Interesting, I thought the way only one was bent meant it hit the water first and took the highest impact speed, thus the engine might have been seized prior to impact.

[Greg Hyde]

Sydney Seaplanes recommenced operations yesterday.

The press (like vultures) interviewing PAX

[MarkR]

Worth mentioning they resumed operations in the Caravans only in dual pilot mode until further notice.

[David C]

I saw Beaver floatplanes on two occasions over the Sydney Harbour and Manly Beach areas on Sunday , could they belong to a different company ?

Dave C

[MarkR]

Cannot say for certain but I suspect you saw the competition:

http://sydneybyseaplane.com/about-us/

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/VHSWB

VH-AAM is their other bird.

[MarkR]

Interim report out, aircraft appears to have been in a position it should not have been.

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/aair/ao-2017-118/

[Philip Argy]

Interesting, I thought the way only one was bent meant it hit the water first and took the highest impact speed, thus the engine might have been seized prior to impact.

Certainly does suggest the prop was not spinning much on impact - otherwise you'd get more of a twisted distortion on all prop blades. Hard to tell if it was feathered, which would be more conclusive.

[MarkR]

Not necessarily, and the interim report suggests there is nothing to indicate engine failure.

[Greg Hyde]

Interim report

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/aair/ao-2017-118/

[Aaron M]

Seems strange that with what appears to be a working engine that he turned into the wrong bay with nowhere to go?

[David C]

And we will never know why .

Dave C

[Steve S... 2]

"Air crash investigators are mystified as to why a Sydney Seaplanes pilot left the normal flight path and headed into Jerusalem Bay shortly before his plane crashed killing all six people on board.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's preliminary report into the fatal New Year's Eve incident released on Wednesday found no evidence of problems with the DHC-2 Beaver plane."

A highly skilled pilot too.

Something really odd about this, and what went wrong.

[Greg Hyde]

This is only the interim report which means that they haven't has time to do the analysis on all the collected data.

For example; Mobile phones, Go-Pro like devices, PM results, Engine broken down, component fatigue testing....

[MarkR]

And we will never know why .

Dave C


We may well find out, there is an inference of a possible medical episode, which in turn could have influenced decision making. No doubt what didnt cause the incident will be ruled out in due course.

[Philip Argy]

Yes, that's true, which just increases the mystery ...

[Adam W]

.

[Adam W]

Latest ATSB update points to carbon monoxide poisoning.

[Greg Hyde]

Engine fumes responsible for fatal Sydney seaplane crash in Hawkesbury River, ATSB says

The pilot of a seaplane that crashed in the Hawkesbury River in 2017 was likely "adversely affected" by engine fumes in the cabin, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says.

An ATSB chief said their lives could've been saved with an "inexpensive" carbon monoxide detector

Gareth Morgan and his five passengers were killed when the Sydney Seaplanes DHC-2 Beaver crashed into the water at Jerusalem Bay on December 31.

The chief executive of catering giant Compass, Richard Cousins, his two adult sons, his fiancee and her 11-year-old daughter were onboard the plane flying to Rose Bay when it went down.

The ATSB today released an update about its investigation into the incident, saying a toxicology report had found Mr Morgan and two of the passengers had elevated levels of carbon monoxide in their blood.

In a statement, ATSB chief commissioner Greg Hood said: "From that consultation with medical experts, and research into the effects of carbon monoxide on aircraft operations, the ATSB considers the levels of carbon monoxide were likely to have adversely affected the pilot's ability to control the aircraft."
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.

Heavy exposure to carbon monoxide replaces the oxygen in the blood and can lead to tiredness, shortness of breath and confusion.

"Having discounted other potential sources of carbon monoxide exposure, the ATSB considers it likely that the pilot and passengers were exposed to carbon monoxide inside the aircraft cabin," Mr Hood said.

Investigators also found missing bolts in the firewall, the section which isolates the plane's engine, which could have allowed the poisonous gas to enter the cabin.

Mr Hood said six lives could have been saved if there had been an electronic carbon monoxide detector on board.

"These detectors are now inexpensive and widely available," he said.

"Had there been an alert of the presence of carbon monoxide, the pilot would have been able to take measures to reduce the risk to those on board."
Sydney Seaplanes pilot Gareth Morgan, who died when the seaplane he was flying crashed into the Hawkesbury River.

The aircraft did have a disposable chemical spot detector on board, but Mr Hood said those scanners were affected by direct sunlight and cleaning chemicals and relied on pilots to regularly monitor them.

Investigators found no evidence the plane had hit a bird, or that part of it fell off, or that the controls had failed.

The ATSB today published two safety notices designed to prevent and detect carbon monoxide in aircraft cabins, recommending regular inspections for holes and cracks.

The final report is expected to be released later this year.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-03/atsb-report-on-sydney-seaplane-fatal-crash-in-hawkesbury-river/12419706

[Greg Hyde]

Final report

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2017/aair/ao-2017-118/

[Philip Argy]

A genuine tragedy that shows how insidious CO poisoning can be. I hope everyone installs audible CO monitors and some kind of aviation "dashcam" along the lines recommended by ATSB.