TRAGIC END TO DREAM HOLIDAY
A BRITISH man killed with his family in a seaplane crash was a multi-millionaire who was in Australia for a holiday and to watch the Ashes.
Richard Cousins, 58, who lost his wife to cancer two years ago, was on vacation with his sons, William, 25, and Edward, 23, as well as his new fiancee, Emma Bowden, 48, and her daughter, Heather Bowden-Page, 11.
Mr Cousins, who was named the world’s 11th most powerful CEO by the Harvard Business Review last year, had just announced his retirement from his $7.6 million-a-year job as boss of catering company Compass.
Experienced pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, was flying all five back to Rose Bay after an a la carte lunch at Cottage Point so they could be in time to see Sydney’s spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks.
But the 53-year-old, singleengined de Havilland Beaver seemed to stall after takeoff and crashed into Jerusalem Bay. None aboard survived.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash, and Sydney Seaplanes managing director Aaron Shaw said the company would be an “open book” and would turn over maintenance logs and information about the fleet.