From the Sunday Mail Brisbane
Mystery over chopper crash
DAVID ENGLISH and MELISSA KETCHELL
19oct03
AIR safety investigators were last night trying to unravel the mystery of why a rescue helicopter crashed at full speed into the sea off Mackay.
There was no distress message, no emergency beacons were activated and weather conditions were "perfect for flying" during the ill-fated mercy flight in which two crewmen died and another is missing feared dead.
The Central Queensland Rescue Service Bell 407 inexplicably crashed north of Mackay, between Cape Hillsborough and Green Island, about 15 minutes after taking off at 9.35pm on Friday.
The helicopter had been on a routine flight to Hamilton Island to pick up a woman who had broken her leg.
Preliminary investigations indicated the helicopter ploughed into the waves at full speed.
It was believed the pilot and two paramedics, all aged 32, died on impact. Their names had not been released last night.
By late yesterday the bodies of two of the three crewmen had been recovered. Searchers were not optimistic about finding the third man alive.
The pilot involved in the latest accident had extensive experience with marine helicopters and was on a flight described as routine.
Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokesman Ben Mitchell said there were several puzzling aspects to the crash. There was no emergency call from the chopper and no distress beacons were triggered, indicating the crash was without warning.
Early indications were the helicopter had hit the water while flying at normal cruising speed, rather than having crashed after an engine failure.
The first sign that something had gone wrong came when the Bell 407 failed to arrive at Hamilton Island on time. Authorities called the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Canberra when it was 15 minutes late.
The Rescue Centre asked Air Services Australia, which monitors aircraft, to check radar identification tapes. The check revealed contact had been lost with the Bell 407 about 15 minutes into the 30-minute flight.
A helicopter was sent from Hamilton Island and saw wreckage floating just below the surface.
A volunteer vessel from Mackay found the body of one man floating close to the wrecked chopper. There was no sign of the two crew members.
A second search helicopter equipped with an infra-red camera was called in about 2am yesterday.
At daybreak yesterday the task of trying to find crew members continued.
Four helicopters, two planes and three boats went back to the crash area to search for the two missing men. Just before 9am, police divers found a second body in the wreckage.
A team from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau arrived at the crash site late yesterday morning to begin an official investigation.
The US-based company that provided the helicopter, which had been in service since September 2001, is sending representatives to Mackay to conduct its own inquiry.
The injured woman, who had broken her leg in a golf buggy accident, was transferred to Mackay Hospital by boat yesterday morning.
Premier Peter Beattie paid tribute to the crash victims, describing them as heroes.
"These are good people who put their lives at risk every day. They are the real heroes who make this state work," he said.
Mr Beattie said the Government would do everything possible to support the families of the victims.
"My heart goes out to them . . . we are all shocked."
The crash was the third involving rescue helicopters in Queensland in the past three years.
In April 2001, a Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service Bell 407 crashed into the ocean during a night mission 240km off Rockhampton.
In July 2000, five people died when a Bell LongRanger crashed near Marlborough, north of Rockhampton.
And the Whitsundays was the scene of a tragedy in September last year, when a Piper Cherokee plane crashed soon after takeoff from Hamilton Island, killing all six on board.