SYDNEY, Australia – Investigators in Australia have used photographs taken by a passenger and a witness on the ground to help piece together the last moments before a seaplane crashed on New Year’s Eve, killing the Canadian pilot and his five British passengers.
In an interim factual report, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau also says New South Wales police have conducted a re-enactment flight to establish the plane’s location using the passenger’s photographs.
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Pilot Gareth Morgan, a former resident of North Vancouver, was flying the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver owned by Sydney Seaplanes when it crashed into the Hawkesbury River near Sydney.
The bureau says its ongoing investigation will now focus on the plane’s flight path and how it compared to the standard departure typically taken by other pilots, the pilot’s health and medical history, the aircraft’s performance and handling characteristics, and similar accidents in Australia and internationally.
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The interim report does not include any analysis or findings by the bureau.
A preliminary report released earlier this year ruled out a bird strike, contaminated fuel and the plane breaking up in flight as possibilities for the cause of the crash.
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