Pollyana

Sad end to the year Passengers on board are believed to have been British.

Sydney seaplane: Six dead as aircraft crashes in river - BBC News

Six people have died after a seaplane crashed into a river in Australia some 30 miles (50km) north of Sydney.

The crash happened on the Hawkesbury River near the suburb of Cowan, New South Wales Police said.

Police divers have recovered six bodies from the wreckage, which is lying in 13m (43 ft) of water.

The identity of those aboard has not yet been released. Local media said the aircraft was from scenic flight company Sydney Seaplanes.

mikelincs

reports are saying that 4 Britons are among the 6 who died.

Pollyana

Yeah, as I said at the start the passengers are believed to be British. Not named anywhere yet though, and its not clear whether they were visitors or resident expats.
RIP.

carcajou

They were tourists from the UK. One was CEO of a major British corporation, and the other four who died were his wife and three kids, as well as the (Australian) pilot.

Pollyana

Yep, seen that now. Pilot was working in Aus but was Canadian. Very sad. I've flown in those planes and they are well maintained etc. Guess if your name is on it.........

DeadVim

Tragic, of course, but how unlucky do you have to be to cark it in a seaplane crashing into a body of water?

mikelincs

Problems for the seaplane owners, the plane was rebuilt after a crash 20 years ago in which the pilot lost his life, air accident thought it had been destroyed but it was rebuilt and then used for crop spraying before being used as a sight seeing seaplane.

spouse of scouse

Well that's them rooted, and rightly so

Amazulu

The DHC2 Beaver is an ultra-reliable machine - all this speculation about its age and the fact that it was rebuilt is just press looking for an angle mumbo jumbo. There are 60-70 year old Spitfires, P-51s, Tiger Moths, Harvards, DC-3s, JU-52s etc still flying - some have even been rebuilt after crashes. There are a few commercial airliners - in daily service - that were built in the 1960's. Many military aircraft that are still operational date from the 1960's (even some from the 1950's). Any machine can last forever if it is well built and maintained and cared for properly

Fact - aircraft sometimes break. They hit things. The pilot sometimes makes a mistake. Shit happens

Bazza Boy

1) The Beaver is NOT an 'ultra-reliable machine.'


https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase...datekey&page=5


2) I'd be interested to know which commercial airlines are flying their passengers in planes built in the 1960's. I very much doubt they'd be an airline you wouldn't want a bottle of Scotch before getting on board.

Amazulu

Again, any machine can last forever if it is well built and maintained and cared for properly

You have to understand what the DHC2 was built for. It's a bush plane. It's designed to fly from short, unprepared strips in all weather. The floatplane version can operate of small lakes in choppy water. Just the basic nature of this flying - away from civilisation, ATC, airports etc, will mean that it's involved in more accidents. Think about it - CASA, the most anal civil aviation authority in the world - licence it for passenger use. They would not do so if it was inherently unsafe

I never said that airliners from the 1960s are in widespread use - but some are

On my last trip back to SA, I did a sightseeing flight in a JU52 - an aircraft that was built in the 1940s for the Luftwaffe! A very enjoyable day it was too. A well maintained aircraft with a professional crew

During my army service in the 1980s, we flew around in C47s that were built in WW2. I had no problem with it - again, well maintained with top pilots. Some of these machines are still in use I believe (although I wouldn't fly one as these are now flown by affirmative action pilots)

I 'get' proper engineering. You obviously don't

Bazza Boy

I'm not the one making ludicrous statements.


I've provided the link which shit cans your notion of the Beaver's tremendous safety record, and you can't name me one reputable commercial airline that fly people in a plane built in the 1960's.


Try again fella.

Pollyana

I bet that was a stunning day! What an opportunity.
One of the best flights I ever did was in a 1930s Dragon Rapide unbelievable fun.

So many old aircraft flying and its a real honour to be able to go in them. No reason why older aircraft, when well maintained, cannot continue to fly, and to carry passengers. A plane does not crash due to its age, but due to the same factors which cause modern planes to crash - failure of a component (new or old), weather conditions, pilot error etc etc. This one may have been written off and rebuilt, but that doesn't make it unsafe, it still has to meet all the conditions CASA place on newer aircraft.
No such rules exist for cars and trucks- they can be patched up in any old way and put back on the road. I know which I'd rather travel in.

Amazulu

No champ, no need to keep trying - I've got it right

Read Pollyana's post above, she gets it

You banging on about 'major airlines' is in your head only, because I never mentioned that. I said that there are airliners built in the 1960s that are in use today - 'major airlines' came from you

I bet you're an accountant or something like that

Hope this helps

Amazulu