Plane in Melbourne crash could have flown on one engine, say investigators
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Version 0 of 1. The twin-engine aeroplane that crashed in Melbourne killing five people was designed to take off with only one engine in cases of catastrophic failure, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has said. The Beechcraft B200 Super King Air plane took off from the southern runway of the Essendon Airport at 8.59am on Tuesday and veered left, hitting the roof of the Essendon Fields Direct Factory Outlet shopping centre, on the edge of the airport land. All four passengers – US tourists Greg De Haven, Russell Munsch, Glenn Garland, and Josh Washburn, as well as the Australian pilot, 63-year-old Max Quartermain – were killed. Greg Hood, the chief commissioner of the ATSB, said Quartermain had made a mayday call shortly after take off, before the plane crashed into the shopping centre, slicing into the rear of the Focus on Furniture and JB Hi-Fi stores. He would not comment on early reports from police that the plane had suffered a “catastrophic engine failure”, saying investigators were still gathering evidence at the crash site. He added that “certainly modern aircraft with two engines are designed to fly on one”. Hood said ATSB investigators would deliver a preliminary report within 28 days, and would not comment on possible causes of the crash before then. “The investigators are trained not to put any bias or any reliance on what is the obvious, it’s really important that when investigating an aviation transport accident that you remain completely objective,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “So whilst in the initial walk-through yesterday … we have discovered some interesting facets, we really need to gather all of the evidence and do the analysis before we comment on what might have been the cause of the accident.” More than 100 witnesses have already been identified as part of the investigation, and anyone with information about or footage of the crash has been asked to contact the ATSB. The plane had been chartered by Corporate Leisure Aviation to fly to King Island as part of an extended golfing holiday, during which the four passengers, and their wives, had travelled around Australia and New Zealand. The wives had stayed behind on this trip and were planning to travel down Victoria’s Great Ocean Road while the men golfed. The charter business was co-owned by Quartermain and his wife, Cilla, and specialised in luxury trips to Tasmania. Its website, which has now been taken offline, describes Quartermain as a pilot of 38 years’ experience with 25 years experience in private charter flights. Quartermain was being investigated by the ATSB over a near-collision with another aircraft in bad weather at Mount Hotham in 2015, but had been cleared to fly by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority after passing additional proficiency checks. The report into that incident is expected in May. He has been described as a “highly respected pilot” by friends in the industry. The chief executive of Essendon Fields, Chris Cowan, told reporters on Wednesday that while he did not know Quartermain personally, he “was well-regarded by the Essendon aviation community”. Family and friends of the four passengers, who all came from Austin, Texas, have described them as close friends on the “trip of a lifetime”. Victorian authorities are working with their families and the US consulate to help other family members travel to Australia, and to provide psychological support. Washburn, a retired lawyer who had been general counsel at Dallas holding company Sammons Enterprises, and Munsch, a fellow lawyer, lived next door to each other in Texas. Washburn’s children told News Corp the 67-year-old “was an excellent father, who was kind and generous and always put his family first”. Munsch was a founding partner of law firm Munsch Hardt, which remembered him in a statement as “one of the best of all time,” the Austin Business Journal reported. “Russ was a loving husband, father and friend, and he will be dearly missed,” it said. Colleagues of Garland at CLEAResult, the energy efficiency company he cofounded and headed until his retirement, described him as “a visionary and a close friend”. “We have all lost an incredible man,” cofounder Jim Stimmell said. “I am blessed to have known and worked closely with Glenn for many years.” De Haven’s sister Denelle Wicht paid tribute to the 70-year-old former FBI agent as “a really good guy”. “My brother absolutely loved golf and our parents loved golf,” she told News Corp. US president Donald Trump offered his condolences through the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer. “The president’s thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims and the US embassy and consulate are ready to provide necessary and appropriate assistance,” Spicer said on Wednesday. Victoria police handed control of the investigation over to the ATSB on Tuesday afternoon, and four ATSB investigators were expected to remain on site gathering evidence for several days. Essendon airport has been closed to aviation traffic, except for emergency services, which all quarter their air wing divisions at Essendon, “out of respect for the victims,” Cowan said. The DFO has also been closed “until further notice.” The crash is the worst aviation disaster in Victoria since a training flight crashed into an Airport West house in 1978, killing six people in the house and seriously injuring three people in the aircraft. Pilots and nearby residents have raised concerns about the safety of Essendon airport, saying it had become boxed in by developments. The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said that reaction was understandable but premature. “I understand the reaction, it’s a perfectly understandable reaction, but let’s await the outcome of the investigation,” he told ABC radio. Andrews said the investigation may make recommendations that would “make a safe airport even safer,” saying, “it is a safe airport by international standards, but of course everyone wants to make it safer if we can do so.” Cowan said the airport had an “exemplary safety record”. |