Crashed Rottnest Island sea plane to be recovered Thursday morning, ATSB confirms
The bulk of a submerged seaplane that crashed off Rottnest Island — claiming three lives — is set to be lifted from the water on Thursday morning, authorities have confirmed.
The crash in Thomson Bay on Tuesday afternoon killed pilot James Wong, 34, a 65-year-old woman, who was a Swiss tourist, and a 60-year-old male Danish tourist.
Four others survived, with three suffering serious injuries.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell on said Wednesday his agency would launch an investigation alongside a police probe for the coroner.
The ATSB will gather information from the Cessna after they recover it from the seabed in the morning, with a focus on the sequence of events leading up to the fatal crash.
Mr Mitchell said they would also gather intel from mobile phones, hundreds of witnesses who watched in horror from the island and from the injured survivors, some of whom were interviewed Wednesday.
He said while some of the plane had been recovered, “a fairly sizeable portion to the fuselage, the engine and the cabin is still underwater” and that it appeared “fairly intact”.
Parts of the plane may be taken back to the ATSB’s lab in Canberra.
Camera IconAustralian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell. Credit: Jackson Flindell/The West Australian
The chief commissioner said it was possible to gain recording information from planes even when they were submerged and had suffered “catastrophic collisions”.
“We also look at the aircraft, the history of this particular aircraft, we know that it is relatively new,” Mr Mitchell said.
“It was built around 2016, it’s been operating in Australia since about 2017, recently changed hands to the company that was in charge of the operations yesterday (Swan River Seaplanes).”
The ATSB has already been collecting records including pilot and training information and weather reports.
“So we then start to look at what went wrong. That goes into a much more deeper analysis of all of the records,” Mr Mitchell said.
“Did this flight differ from other flights that have taken off here? What were the differences there? They’re the sorts of things that take us some time to put together.”
Asked about a severe wind warning issued before the fateful flight, Mr Mitchell said his agency would seek information from the Bureau of Meteorology, as well as any radio calls made before or during the flight.
“Certainly weather is always something that we look closely,” he said.
Takeoff speed, the weight of the plane and the aircraft’s balance will also be examined.
The ATSB will publish its preliminary investigation findings in two months.
This will include recommendations, with an aim to avoid repeat disasters.
“We know situations and accidents like this not only just affect those that were on board and their immediate family, it is felt much broader for work colleagues,” Mr Mitchell said.
“Tourism and aviation is a staple of the Australian offering.
“Our job ahead of us now, over the next weeks and months, is to uncover exactly what went wrong, and what we can recommend to ensure that these things are a lot less likely to happen into the future.”
Mr Mitchell could not say how long it would take to produce the final report.
The chief commissioner praised recreational boat owners who rushed to help the survivors, saying they had saved lives, as well as the first responders and police divers who recovered the bodies.
Forensic police traversed the island throughout the day, with officers seen carrying bags of equipment to the local police station.
#Crashed #Rottnest #Island #sea #plane #recovered #Thursday #morning #ATSB #confirms