Six dead in seaplane crash north of Sydney

[ExSp33db1rd]

Have flown in the Catalina serviceable here in NZ, but that was off our grass airfield, they refuse to take it anywhere near the sea now, and the only water activity is on a freshwater lake. It's the salt y'know.

[ian16th]

I'm in the Sunderlands are flying boats club.
If it lands on its hull its a boat!
If its on floats its a seaplane.

[Stoneboat]

Have flown in the Catalina serviceable here in NZ, but that was off our grass airfield, they refuse to take it anywhere near the sea now, and the only water activity is on a freshwater lake. It's the salt y'know.

I knew that airplane as CF-JCV at Austin Airways, based in Timmins, Ontario. Among other work, they had a passenger service that went Timmins-Moosonee-Great Whale River-Port Harrison-Povungnituk-Sugluk-Hall Beach. The first two locations are in Northern Ontario, the rest in Northern Quebec and Baffin Island. They operated from airports at Timmins and the Whale, and from the river at Moose, but the rest were off Hudson's Bay and the Arctic Ocean, salt water all the way. Salt water ops call for speccial ops procedures, and I have no doubt the Kiwis were up to date on them, but over time...

I had heard that ZK-PBY had suffered corrosion problems, mainly with the wings I believe. They were down for over a year wwhile they corrected it. The wing trailing edges as well as the control surfaces are fabric covered, which is why most Canadian water bomber operators metallized them.

[Cacophonix]

The news that British tycoon Richard Cousins who died in the Sydney seaplane crash has left his fortune to Oxfam brought me back to studying this accident again today...

A preliminary report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the aircraft operated by Sydney Seaplanes left Cottage Point bound for Rose Bay at 3.01pm on January 31.

The report said: 'The operator reported that the aircraft's expected and standard flight path after departing Cottage Point was to climb initially to the north then turn right along Cowan Creek toward the main body of the Hawkesbury River, until sufficient altitude was gained to fly above terrain and return to Rose Bay.

'While the exact take-off path from Cottage Point has yet to be established, the aircraft was observed by witnesses to enter Jerusalem Bay around 0.6miles off course.

The preliminary ATSB report can be found here...

https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/in ... -2017-118/

On 31 December 2017, at about 1500[1] Eastern Daylight-saving Time,[2] the pilot and five passengers of a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver floatplane, registered VH-NOO and operated by Sydney Seaplanes, departed Cottage Point on a charter flight to Rose Bay, New South Wales.

The operator reported that the aircraft’s expected and standard flight path[3] after departing Cottage Point was to climb initially to the north then turn right along Cowan Creek toward the main body of the Hawkesbury River, until sufficient altitude was gained to fly above terrain and return to Rose Bay (Figure 1). While the exact take-off path from Cottage Point has yet to be established, the aircraft was observed by witnesses to enter Jerusalem Bay (Figure

1). The aircraft was observed to enter the bay at an altitude below the height of the surrounding terrain (Figure 2). Several witnesses also reported hearing the aircraft’s engine and stated that the sound was constant and appeared normal.

Shortly after entering Jerusalem Bay, numerous witnesses reported seeing the aircraft suddenly enter a steep[4] right turn and the aircraft’s nose suddenly drop before the aircraft collided with the water in a near vertical position. The aircraft came to rest inverted and with the cabin submerged. Witnesses reported the entire tail section and parts of both floats were initially above the waterline. The aircraft took over 10 minutes to completely submerge. A quantity of fuel was also observed in the water. A number of witnesses who heard or observed the impact responded to render assistance. All six occupants received fatal injuries.... <<report continues>>

Caco

[Cacophonix]

Reading between the lines it appears possible that the pilot flew down the wrong bay, and attempted to turn out and either stalled or impacted the water during the turn.

Caco

[Cacophonix]

Interim report has been released. It can be read here.

https://www.atsb.gov.au/media/5775479/a ... nterim.pdf


Caco

[Stoneboat]

Does look like a stall/spin accident, doesn't it.

[Cacophonix]

Does look like a stall/spin accident, doesn't it.

It sure does, and from a very experienced pilot, well trained who received above average ratings on his renewals. There by the grace of God...

Caco