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Plane Crashes

Six killed in Sydney seaplane crash; ATSB investigation open

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says the sequence of events on the December 31 flight is not fully understood, with a preliminary report due in about 30 days.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jan 2, 2018, 1:01 a.m. ETWritten Aug 9, 2026, 1:22 a.m. ET
people died when a seaplane operated by crashed near , , on 31 December 2017, the BBC reported. There were no survivors. The investigation is open and the situation continues to develop. Those killed included Compass Group chief executive Richard Cousins, 58, four members of his family, and the Sydney-based Canadian pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, according to the BBC. The family were flying back to from a waterfront restaurant in Jerusalem Bay. The bodies of the victims were recovered on Sunday evening, the BBC reported. The cause has not been determined. "The full sequence of events leading up to the accident is not fully understood at this stage," said Australian Transport Safety Bureau executive director Nat Nagy, who said a preliminary report is due in about 30 days. The BBC reported that the wreckage was to be raised from the Hawkesbury River using airbags or a crane for forensic examination, and that investigators planned to check the operator's and the pilot's flying history and to examine mobile phones on board for clues. The aircraft involved has not been identified in the available facts. Registry records list two aircraft under ; that is a description of the operator's fleet and not an identification of the aircraft in this accident.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Terrain elevation
285 ft
Nearest aerodrome
5.6 miles NNE of Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport (YSSY/SYD)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 19 Aug 2026, 05:22current

    First published.

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