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ATSB Probes Two Fatal Small-Plane Crashes in South Australia and Queensland

Investigators prioritize evidence after separate accidents left four dead in treacherous conditions.

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Morphett Vale man Leo Howard, 53, was on board a Cessna with 18-year-old Tristan Scheffers and a 20-year-old from Pasadena, both trainee pilots, when the aircraft spun out of control before nose-diving into waters in the Long Bay area, close to Goolwa South about 4.30pm on Friday.
A light plane has crashed into the ocean off South Australia’s south coast. 

Overview

  • Authorities identified the South Australia victims as pilot Leo Howard, 53, and aspiring pilots Tristan Scheffers, 18, and Lucas Di Biase, 20, after a Cessna 210 went down off Goolwa South on Friday afternoon.
  • Witness video reviewed by officials shows the Cessna rolling left into a very steep nose-down descent a few hundred metres offshore, and the ATSB has appealed for additional footage and witness accounts.
  • Rough seas complicated the coastal recovery as surf lifesavers, SES crews and police brought wreckage to shore; police will prepare a coroner’s report and a preliminary ATSB report is expected in about two months.
  • In a separate crash near Normanton, Queensland, police on Sunday recovered the body of a 32-year-old Clifton Beach pilot from a Beechcraft King Air B200 that came down about 800 metres from the airport on Friday night.
  • Flooded, crocodile‑infested marshland hindered access to the Normanton site, and the ATSB will conduct a site survey and collect the cockpit voice recorder, maintenance records, weather data and any flight tracking information.