Finding Answers

Eye in the Sky GA black box born out of heartbreak

It comes as no surprise to Louisa ‘Choppy’ Patterson that preliminary investigations have been unable to fathom why a De Havilland Beaver floatplane was off course and crashed into the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, killing all six on board on New Year’s Eve.

It’s yet another tragic aviation accident that vindicates a decision by the chief executive of Queenstownbased luxury helicopter tour operator, Over the Top, to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a “black box” audio and video flight data recorder for general aviation aircraft.