South Australia’s worst plane crash in 17 years kills three aviation specialists

May 31, 2017

Three men identified as aviation specialists died in South Australia’s worst aircraft crash in 17 years. The search and rescue team found the wreckage around 4km west of the Renmark Aerodrome, north east of Adelaide, at 7.10pm Australian time after the 10-seater Cessna Conquest crashed soon after takeoff on May 30, 2017.

Those three men were experienced pilots from Adelaide identified as Rossair’s chief pilot, 65-year-old Martin Scott, Civil Aviation Safety Authority officer Stephen Guerin, 56, and re-training pilot Paul Daw, 48.

The Rossair charter plane Cessna Conquest was on a check and training flight when it met a tragic crash. The ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau), which is investigating the accident with help from the Major Crash Unit, released a statement this morning, saying the plane crashed into the ground shortly after departure.

“The ATSB has deployed a team of five investigators to the accident site with expertise that includes aircraft operation and maintenance,” the statement said.

Rossair after the crash grounded its entire fleet and declared in a statement that its 37-year-old aircraft suffered the fatal crash.

Australian Aviation Authority described the crash as a huge loss whereas Rossair described the tragedy as “a devastating blow for the families involved, the Company and the group’s 30 employees”.

Police are controlling the crash scene while several ATSB investigators are arriving the scene. The investigators are estimated to dedicate their three days’ time trying to piece together what had happened.

Source: www.9news.com.au