Bell ditching off Newcastle
 

The AMSA thing is a joke when it has to fly the jet from Melbourne to Williamtown area to effect a search. Four aircraft to cover Australia. Think about it...

I have flown across this beach a number of times and it is a white pointer shark breeding spot.

I was flying once in an Allegro LSA and the shadow of my fuselage passed over the top of one of the very large sharks sitting just outside of the breakers. The shark was longer than the shadow of a 6.5 m long fuselage !! And because of Newcastle being so close you are only at 500 feet AGL passing through the area as a VFR aircraft...... makes you think. After this I went had a look on Google to find out more about the location and the sharks being there and I also found out that there are multiple gamefishing, land based, world records in this area and several boat based world records. There are some really big sharks in this area.

Not the very best place to be ditching, you not only have the problems of landing in the ocean but then you have problems of getting picked off swimming to shore. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.

Looking at the lifelike tracking for the rescue aircraft doesn't really make much sense either. This aircraft went missing at around 6:30 PM last night and the rescue aircraft didn't leave Melbourne until 730 this morning ? What am I missing

TV news reporting this morning that search ongoing, no wreckage or occupants located yet.

The Bombardier jet was searching last night at least up to midnight and returned to Melb to refuel and swap crew.

Currently Westpac 2 is hovering in an area about 5km SSE of Fishermans bay and has been there for a while with CL60 orbiting that location.

Reported to be five onboard, aircraft was flying from Brisbane to Bankstown, stopped for fuel at Coffs Harbour

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...40972a23a67121

Hi Duck
It's a Huey (UH-1H) not a Jetranger...

...and god only knows what it was doing but as a single engine experimental ex-mil helo, it's not on a charter.

Five people are missing and a major search operation is underway after a helicopter faded off the radar off the coast of Port Stephens overnight.

The privately owned Bell UH1 helicopter, known as a “Huey”, went missing in destructive winds and storms about 6:30pm last night.

According to police, the helicopter, which had five people on board, went missing in the vicinity of Anna Bay.

There has been sightings of debris and oil in the water as the search for the aircraft resumed on Saturday, an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said.

But due to poor conditions nothing else had been spotted.

It is believed the private helicopter had taken off from Brisbane, stopped in Coffs Harbour to refuel and was flying to Bankstown Airport when it disappeared.

A search involving the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, police and marine rescue was conducted last night and was due to resume at 7am today.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...40972a23a67121

The data points in that ALT/GS plot are odd. Going from 60 kts to 160 kts, and then zero kts, in the space of a few minutes...there must be 60+ kts worth of tail wind as the UH-1H typically only does 100 kts IAS. With a turn into wind followed by a turn downwind again. And all those altitude changes. Makes you wonder what they might have been doing, must have been a wild ride.

Brisbane Helicopters used the aircraft for joyrides

'Up there in no time'... Anyone alive in the water under those temps and conditions are not going to last for long.
VERY quick time is of the essence.*
RIP the 5

* Remember Bass Strait.

A rate of descent of 9000ft/min before disappearing off radar suggests a lack of control and would be unlikely to be survivable. Perhaps a mast bump from the turbulent ride or chop off the tail boom.

Aaand cue Dick Smith