ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 226850
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 29 June 2019 |
| Time: | 12:46 |
| Type: |  Cessna 208 Caravan I |
| Owner/operator: | Sydney Seaplanes |
| Registration: | VH-ZWH |
| MSN: | 20800399 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2006 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 9 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Berowra Waters, NSW -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Rose Bay, NSW |
| Berowra Waters, NSW | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The Cessna 208 Caravan floatplane, registered VH-ZWH (ZWH) operated by Sydney Seaplanes, departed from Rose Bay on a charter flight to Berowra Waters, New South Wales (NSW). On board were the pilot and eight passengers.
At about the same time that the aircraft took off from Rose Bay, two adults and two children departed from the Berowra Waters Marina in a hired small aluminium boat, which the marina reported as being about 4.8 metres in length. The boat hirer (boat operator) did not have a boat licence, nor was one required to operate the boat. The children were wearing lifejackets and the adults were not wearing lifejackets, nor were they required to. After about 15 minutes, the boat operator stopped the boat near the middle of Berowra Creek to have lunch, and turned off the motor.
About 5 minutes after the boat had stopped, ZWH approached the landing area on Berowra Creek (located in Berowra Waters). The pilot assessed that the wind conditions were suitable for landing and positioned the aircraft to land on Berowra Creek in a south-westerly direction. After landing, because of the long distance to taxi to the restaurant, the pilot kept the aircraft’s speed up, maintaining the aircraft ‘on the step’ (see Seaplane positions) for some time. At the same time, the pilot was also monitoring a large white boat that was heading south out of Calabash Bay, ensuring that it continued moving away from the aircraft and was not going to present a hazard.
As the aircraft approached the 4-knot zone of the creek, the pilot reduced the speed and the aircraft moved from the step to the taxiing position.
The boat operator saw the aircraft land and travel towards their stationary boat. As the aircraft approached, the boat operator became concerned that the aircraft was not going to stop. Because the boat appeared to be in the aircraft’s direct path, the boat operator started the motor and began turning the boat away from the aircraft. As the aircraft was slowing to taxi the pilot felt a bump while at a speed of about 6 to 7 knots. The pilot looked around the nose of the aircraft (which was obstructing part of the forward field of view) and saw that the front left float had contacted the boat, which the pilot had not seen until then. The silver hull of the boat had been motionless on the calm, glassy surface of the creek and its dark blue canopy and dark clothing worn by the adults in the boat had blended into the surrounding area.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2019/aair/ao-2019-030/
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 25 January 2024 | VH-ZWH | Sydney Seaplanes Pty Ltd | 0 | Sydney Harbour, near Rose Bay Water Airport (RSE/YRAY), NSW | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 06-Jul-2019 19:15 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 26-Feb-2020 12:58 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Nature, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation