Crash plane ‘destroyed’ 20yrs earlier
THE seaplane that crashed in Australia, killing six people, had been “destroyed” in an accident 20 year ago.
Authorities are trying to determine what caused it to plunge into a river north of Sydney, killing the pilot and five British tourists.
Businessman Richard Cousins, 58; sons Will, 25, and Ed, 23; fiancee Emma Bowden, 48; her daughter Heather, 11; and pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, all died.
The 1964 DHC-2 plane had been working as a crop duster in 1996, when it hit a hill, killing the pilot, a government report found.
It is believed the aircraft was rebuilt and owned by businesses before it was acquired by Sydney Seaplanes, which will say no more on technical matters during the probe.