De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver crash, Dec 31, 2017 (6 killed)
De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver accident on December 31, 2017 near Cottage Point, New South Wales, Australia with 6 fatalities. Cause: ATSB (AO 2017 118):...
- Date: December 31, 2017
- Aircraft: De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver
- Location: Cottage Point, New South Wales, Australia
- Fatalities: 6
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: ATSB (AO 2017 118): carbon monoxide in the cabin, from cracked exhaust collector ring and missing firewall bolts, likely significantly degraded the pilot's ability to operate the aircraft safely. The aircraft entered Jerusalem Bay below terrain height and a steep turn likely ended in an aerodynamic stall at too low an altitude to recover.
On 31 December 2017 a Sydney Seaplanes DHC 2 Beaver floatplane on a charter flight from Cottage Point to Rose Bay entered Jerusalem Bay below the height of the surrounding terrain, then made a steep low level right turn and struck the water inverted. The pilot and all five passengers were killed and the aircraft was destroyed. The ATSB final report AO 2017 118 (released January 2021) found that carbon monoxide entering the cabin likely degraded the pilot's ability to fly safely, with cracks in the exhaust collector ring and missing firewall bolts identified as the likely pathway.