Crash seaplane took a wrong turn

THE pilot of the seaplane that crashed into NSW’s Hawkesbury River on New Year’s Eve, killing all six people on board, had dramatically veered 1km off course into Jerusalem Bay and was hemmed in by steep terrain before losing control of the aircraft.

A preliminary report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, may have become disorientated, distracted or incapacitated when he lost control of the de Havilland Beaver at Cowan Creek, making a steep left turn off the standard flight path.

That took the plane into Jerusalem Bay.

It is not yet known what caused the experienced pilot to veer off course at low altitude.

He had flown the route more than 500 times with Sydney Seaplanes – where he had worked for four years – including three times on the day of the crash.

Aviation experts ruled out fuel contamination and engine and mechanical failure, and said weather conditions were “ideal”.

The report said: “The aircraft was observed to enter the bay at an altitude below the height of the surrounding terrain ... shortly after entering Jerusalem Bay, numerous witnesses reported seeing the aircraft suddenly enter a steep right turn and the aircraft’s nose suddenly dropped before the aircraft collided with the water in a near vertical position.

“The entire tail section and parts of both floats were initially above the waterline.

“All six occupants received fatal injuries.”

British catering tycoon Richard Cousins, his fiancee Emma Bowden, her daughter Heather, 11, and Mr Cousins’s sons William, 25, and Edward, 23, were killed, along with the pilot.

The seaplane took 10 minutes to submerge 14m into water.

ATSB air crash investigators are urging witnesses to help to fill in the gap of exactly what happened between the plane landing for lunch at Cottage Inn and taking off again about 3.10pm, five minutes before it smashed into the water.

Crash teams are still examining the 55-year-old aircraft’s fuselage, wings, cockpit and main body components.

Full findings about the sequence of events, information about the pilot and the cause of the crash will be released in 11 months.

Mr Morgan had medical examinations weeks before the crash, with “a high standard of health” reported.

He held a valid Commercial Pilot (Aeroplane) Licence that was last reissued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in March last year.

Sydney Seaplanes CEO Aaron Shaw described the crash as “tragic”.

“The key question arising from the report is why the plane crashed approximately halfway down Jerusalem Bay, which is surrounded by steep terrain and has no exit,” Mr Shaw said.

“It is not a route we authorise ... and the plane simply should not have been where it was.”