Desert Flower
Hmm that's it 1974 model, was bought new by Bell Bros, then the largest earthmoving contractors in the West and in the middle of the largest construction effort in Australia next to the Snowy scheme.
The building of the Iron Ore mining infrastructure around Hedland, Karratha, Newman and Paraburdoo.
It was the same age as the pilot, 28years old.
Bell Bros also operated an HS1254BRA can't remember its rego, might have been VH-BBJ a C206 and C182.
They were the first significant users of corporate aircraft starting I think starting with Austers then a Miles Gemini, Meta Sokol and new C411 VH-BBX, we operated the sistership VH TDB.
Interesing days.
Mainframe
In every inquest parents of the decease will want to attribute blame to anything other than an error of judgement or act of stupidity by their son. Every time, even on this forum, we see the plaudits come in, "He was "the best pilot on the field", he was the greatest pilot, he was top of his class, he was a legend"
Unfortunately, the majority of pilots who conscientiously do their job, don't break the law, fly professionally all the time just don't merit a mention. They're not legends, not the greatest pilot on the field and more importantly NOT DEAD.
Never a truer word spoken.
strewth
I agree with you re the "he just f****d up", but he does deserve, that the complete picture be shown and the ATSB are not doing the other youngsters any favours, given the age of the machine, by not ensuring that a stuctural or component failure was not a contibuting factor.
There are still too many of old these old sh!tfights out there masquerading as "public conveyances".
I came closer than I would like to have been to becoming one of those statistics in a "modern" but "very" high hour turbine, that was waaaay past its use by time, notwithstanding that it was "spanner weary" from premium maintenance.
The fault was discovered by a very diligent LAME doing a prepurchase inspection after I had flown it across the country for this purpose, in some fair turbulence at times and reported some "odd" pitch problems to him and after the preflight being signed out by the LAME at departure.
It was not expected, not part of the maintenance schedule, nor had been experienced before as this aircraft was the fleet leader in airframe time.
The fix was simple but the consequences prior were not.