Sydney Seaplane slammed into water during failed take off
A trip to lunch took a dramatic turn on Sydney Harbour this morning, when a seaplane slammed into the water, during a failed take off.
Transcript
00:00 A stomach churning end to the shortest of flights.
00:05 Bounce, bounce and then boom.
00:07 Lee, Lindsay and Kate were on their way to lunch.
00:10 We were going to Cottage Point for a degustation.
00:12 We've come here to celebrate Kate's 50th birthday.
00:15 Oh, thanks.
00:17 They were meant to fly from Rose Bay in Sydney's east to the Hawkesbury River,
00:21 but during take-off there was a hiccup.
00:24 It went up on a very sharp angle and then just came back down again,
00:28 belly flopped and then had a broken wing like a gull.
00:32 The aircraft came to rest off Shark Island.
00:35 The pilot was great.
00:36 He unbuckled my seatbelt and he said, "You need to get out straight away."
00:40 And he unbuckled my seatbelt and he opened the door
00:43 and he gave me a little nudge to get out.
00:45 The eight passengers were helped onto a boat.
00:48 I actually thought he was asking us to get into the water
00:51 and I was worried about my outfit and my bag.
00:53 Lindsay.
00:55 They managed to stay dry and even booked another table for lunch nearby.
00:59 Police say only one person was hurt.
01:02 Their injuries were minor.
01:04 It was an aborted take-off.
01:05 It's the sort of thing that happens at airports frequently.
01:08 The operator, Sydney Seaplane,
01:10 says it appears the aircraft struck an object in the water
01:13 or hit a large wave left in the wake of a boat.
01:16 The company says it looks like most of the damage was to a float
01:19 and that it's likely the plane can be repaired.
01:22 In 2017, another Sydney Seaplane's aircraft crashed into the Hawkesbury,
01:27 killing the pilot and his five passengers.
01:30 That was a long time ago now, right?
01:33 And I wouldn't say these things can easily become fatal.
01:37 Plane crashes are very rare, far rarer than any other form of transport.
01:40 The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is still deciding
01:43 whether it will investigate this latest incident.
01:46 Still a little bit in shock. Yeah.
01:48 We're still a little bit in shock.
01:50 But we're also grateful. It could have been worse.
01:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]