Sydney death crash plane involved in fatal accident before
A SEAPLANE which crashed in Australia, killing five British tourists and the pilot, had been involved in a fatal crash before, it has emerged.
As authorities lifted the wreckage of the De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver from Hawkesbury River, north of Sydney, Fairfax Media reported that the singleengine plane was rebuilt after a crash in 1996. It had been used to spread fertiliser in rural Australia and crashed after flying into hot winds, spinning a cartwheel and killing the pilot.
Investigators had been unable to establish an exact cause, but said it appeared to have stalled. The Civil Aviation and Safety Authority said the plane was repaired and cleared to fly again. It had been regularly maintained and its current engine had flown only 200 hours, according to Sydney Seaplanes, which had operated it for more than a decade.
As The Daily Telegraph revealed this week, a fatal crash in the same model in Canada prompted authorities there to recommend that stall-warning devices be mandatory for all such aircraft. It is understood that the crashed aircraft, had not been fitted with a device. Aboard were Richard Cousins, the 58-year-old head of Compass, the catering giant, his sons William, 25, and Edward, 23, Emma Bowden, 48, his fiancée and her daughter Heather Bowden-page, 11. Gareth Morgan, 44, the pilot, also died. Simon and Andrew Cousins, the brothers of Mr Cousins, have flown to Australia.
The plane crashed during a routine flight from a waterfront restaurant to Rose Bay in Sydney harbour.
Witnesses said it took a sharp turn and then “nosedived”.