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Old 7th Feb 2023, 23:31
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Capn Bloggs
 
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Article in today's "The West Australian":

A TALE OF SURVIVAL

REBECCA LE MAY



A water bomber that crashed while battling an out-of-control bushfire in the State’s south is believed to have clipped a hill, authorities have revealed.

The two pilots who miraculously walked away from Australia’s first Boeing 737 crash were set to be interviewed by investigators on Tuesday night after being discharged from hospital the previous day.

The water bomber, operated by Canadian contractor Coulson Aviation, crashed in Fitzgerald River National Park at 4.13pm on Monday while helping quell the blaze in Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun, bursting into flames after impact.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the jet appeared to have “potentially clipped the ridge line and has pancaked down”.

One of the pilots was identified as Coulson’s director of flight operations John Gallagher, pictured below left.

Matthew Boyko is believed to be the second pilot on board.

“Certainly, a horizontal landing as opposed to vertical into the ground makes a big difference,” Mr Mitchell said.

“But these pilots, I’m sure, are very lucky to be alive. We are very fortunate to be standing here and not to be mourning the death of some firefighters. That’s a remarkable outcome.”

Once the site was safe to enter, air crash investigators would gather flight data and cockpit recorders, Mr Mitchell said. “They look at any of those potentially mission-critical aspects of the flight, particularly engineering, to see if that gives us any idea,” he said.

“This is certainly the first 737 collision with terrain that we’ve had in Australia. That in itself is quite significant — for an aircraft that size to come down in Australia.

“There’s nothing to suggest at this stage that there’s any ramifications to the global fleet.”

With the fire the plane was tackling still at the watch and act level — and Cowerdup in the middle of the zone elevated to an emergency warning — air crash investigators were unable to get on site on Tuesday, Mr Mitchell said.

The jet, nicknamed Phoenix, had just completed the second half of a “split” load retardant drop when it smashed into the ground about 20 seconds later, Department of Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm said.

Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said the pilots’ survival was “nothing short of miraculous”.

After a Coulson C130 Hercules water bomber crashed in NSW in 2020 — killing three crew — the ATSB found major shortcomings in Coulson’s practices.

Mr Mitchell said there could be “serious repercussions” from the investigation, with the ATSB potentially handing recommendations to the operator and broader aviation sector “so something like this doesn’t occur again”.
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