According to the ATSB’s preliminary report into the incident, the aircraft was fully intact prior to the collision, and there was no evidence of pre-impact defects with the aircraft’s flight controls, aircraft structure, or engine.
Two of the four people on board the R44 Raven I were killed when it broke up in-flight shortly after departure in Broome, WA, on 4 July 2020, but the exact cause of the breakup is still to be determined.
The two-seat kit-built Acroduster II had taken off from Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast when witnesses reported the aircraft “descended very quickly” shortly after 9:20am. It is currently not known what caused the crash.
Tourism operator Sydney Seaplanes will begin offering “significant discounts” to vaccinated Australians, in an effort to drive up local immunisation rates and re-open international borders.
Talking to Australian Aviation, Gerry Geltch said, “He was my staff member, he was my priority. I think when you’re a father, you just think about if it were your kids. It just is what it is and you do what you have to do.”
Liquidator KPMG’s final report also revealed how the school’s fleet of around 50 aircraft have now been sold for $5.3 million, and it collapsed owing employees $1.1 million.
