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Thread: Float plane raised from the Hawkesbury.

  1. #1
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    Float plane raised from the Hawkesbury.

    What? A stall, caused by a down draft? Engine failure? showboating?. Will we ever know.

    Seaplane wreckage recovered
    I’m pretty sure the dinosaurs died out when they stopped gathering food and started having meetings to discuss gathering food

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    Hawkesbury River Plane Crash

    It’s going to be interesting to see the ATSB report on this tragic accident.

    It does seem as though it wasn’t a planned emergency landing as there is no mention of doors being opened before the crash, which should be done when intentionally ditching to reduce the risk of being trapped.

    The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is an excellent aircraft for this application with great Short Take Off & Landing (STOL) capability & is well suited to bush flying.

    Although there’s concern about the plane having a crash in 1996, the aircraft inspectors are very thorough & wouldn’t have risked their license to declare a faulty aircraft airworthy.

    Hawkesbury River seaplane crash: Craft once used as a crop duster and had been 'destroyed' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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    The descriptions of the accident I have seen suggest that what happened was consistent with a stall/spin out of a steep turn at low level, which would have been unrecoverable. The pilot was very experienced in the type, which does make an error of judgement unlikely, but in executing a steep turn the margin for error can get pretty small, which is why these should not be done at low level, and it could be a case of sudden pilot incapacitation, or a mechanical failure such as a jamming or breaking control cable (which should never happen), or even a momentary drop in engine power.

    Perhaps worth noting that (as standard) the DHC-2 has no stall warning device, and in a steep turn there would be very little warning from stick shake - the pilot would be relying only on experience, and may have cut the margin a bit close. Unless some sort of medical issue or mechanical failure can be found, it is difficult to see how there will be a clear result from the investigation, although if it can be shown that it was in fact executing a steep turn at low level, the pilot will undoubtedly be blamed.

    I seem to remember that there was recently another seaplane accident on the Swan River in similar circumstances.
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    I wonder if some of the passengers decided to take photos out of one ide of the plane and shifted then centre of gravity very quickly.

    Of course we will never know as they all were killed, so unless they find a physical reason it will be "pilot error"

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    Engine was still running when it crashed - body still intact with engine area severely damaged - as John has said seems like a classic stall and nose first into the water. I am surprised that there is no stall warning system fitted but may have not been a lot of help when low and banking.

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    I'm not surprised about no stall warning - wasn't one on my Auster either, and it was similar vintage. I'm trying to remember whether there was one on the Victas I learnt to fly on - not sure.
    John

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    I haven't been up that way in a long time. A lot of the places in the Hawkesbury have walls significantly higher than the river. I guess what I'm asking is how restrictive would the area where the plane pranged be for manoeuvring, in the case of, say - a go-around from low level?

    I've been into some pretty tight places that needed a split-rrrse turn to escape in the event of a go-around from low level (I'm not a seaplane pilot). In some cases, a 180 deg turn.

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    Beavers don’t have stall warning and don’t need one, they give early warning of a stall. I haven’t seen the video of this accident but those who have said looked like a classic stall/flick. 6 people in a Beaver on floats would be near gross, depending on fuel. Pilot was said to be very expirenced, most of his float time was twin Otters not Beavers.
    Nearly all Beavers have previous crash history or have been rebuilt several times due corrosion, especially AG machines as this was. At one stage AA at Bankstown operated 65 Beavers from QLD to SA.

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    Not flown FW on floats, just helicopters. Is there much big bird life in that area? The sudden appearance of a large bird heading straight at you could have caused a sudden evasive input by the pilot, leading to a stall. RIP to the victims.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fourgearsticks View Post
    Beavers don’t have stall warning and don’t need one, they give early warning of a stall. ........

    Early warning of a stall in a steep turn is probably too late. And that would apply whether there is a stall warning device or not. If it really was a stall out of a steep turn, the absence of a stall warning device is irrelevant.
    John

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