Australian investigators probing a seaplane crash that killed a British family and their pilot on New Year’s Eve will look into a 2015 accident in Quebec that involved the same model of aircraft.
The victims of Sunday’s crash, near Sydney, were Richard Cousins, the 58-year-old chief executive of FTSE 100 firm Compass Group, his fiancee Emma Bowden and her 11-year-old daughter, Heather, and Cousins’ sons Richard and Will. Canadian-born pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, also died.
Morgan was flying the family back to Sydney after lunch during a sightseeing trip when the aircraft went down over the Hawkesbury River, off Jerusalem Bay, north of Sydney. A witness said the plane, a De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver, appeared to nosedive into the water. Air crash investigators say they don’t yet know the cause of the accident.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Aaron Shaw, the CEO of tour company Sydney Seaplanes, described Morgan as an extremely experienced pilot, with more than 10,000 hours of flight time, CTV News reports. The crash is similar to an accident involving another DHC-2 Beaver that crashed in Quebec in 2015, killing a British family of four, a French passenger and the pilot, says Sky News.
The seaplane model is generally reliable, a transport safety officer told The Sydney Morning Herald. However, investigators do not know if the Sydney plane had been installed with a warning system recommended by Canadian authorities after the 2015 crash.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau hopes to recover the wreckage by the end of the week, reports ABC News.
-
Heirs and Graces: an ‘enthralling’ deep dive into the decline of nobilityThe Week Recommends Eleanor Doughty explores the ‘bizarre fascination’ with the British aristocracy
-
The week’s best photosIn Pictures A monstrous pumpkin, a sumo showdown, and more
-
Western Alaska reels as storm aftermath prompts mass evacuationsUNDER THE RADAR Alaskan lawmakers point to climate change as airlifts relocate hundreds from coastal communities devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
