B.C. pilot dies in seaplane crash in Australia

The pilot of a seaplane that crashed off the coast of New South Wales in Australia on New Year’s Eve has now been identified as a B.C. man.

Gareth Morgan, 44, was killed along with the other five people on board.

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Tributes are now starting to pour in online for Morgan, who describe him as a lovely person who was always kind and thoughtful and an amazing human being.

“From the second that I met him, he had a smile on his face, he was eager to learn,” Gavin Stewart, who worked with Morgan at Tweedsmuir Air, said. “He was just.. very positive, humble, outgoing. Nothing was beneath him.”

Morgan attended Capilano College where he played soccer and then went on to represent Canada at the Pan American Games.

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Morgan was piloting a single-engine aircraft that belonged to Sydney Seaplanes, which offers sightseeing trips to tourists. Witnesses say the plane made a tight right-hand turn before the wings dipped and it nosedived into the water. The other five people on board have been identified as Richard Cousins — the CEO of Compass Group UK — his two sons, his fiancee and her daughter.

An investigation into what caused the crash has now started.

In a statement from Sydney Seaplanes, managing director Aaron Shaw said they are “deeply shocked by this incident and the resulting loss of life.”

“We wish to pass on our heartfelt condolences to the Bowden and Cousins families and the family of our pilot Gareth Morgan who were tragically killed.”

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He goes on to say Morgan had worked for Sydney Seaplanes on two occasions, the first from 2011 to 2014, after which he went to fly seaplanes in the Maldives. “He then returned to working for us in May 2017,” the statement said.

“He was an extremely experienced pilot, with over 10,000 hours total time, of which approximately 9,000 hours was seaplane time.”

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Sydney Seaplanes has announced it is suspending all operations until further notice and are working with the New South Wales Police to find out exactly what happened.

“For him to lose his life in this fashion, I can’t even express in words how much pain I feel for his family,” Stewart said.

— With files from Jon Azpiri and Tanya Beja