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| Date: | Tuesday 7 May 2024 |
| Time: | 07:15 |
| Type: |  Cessna 208 Caravan |
| Owner/operator: | West Coast Air Services |
| Registration: | VH-MOX ? |
| MSN: | 20800227 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1993 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | Horizontal Falls Talbot Bay pontoon, WA -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Horizontal Falls Talbot Bay pontoon, WA |
| Horizontal Falls Talbot Bay pontoon, WA | |
| Investigating agency: | ATSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A float-equipped Cessna 208 was operating a round-trip sightseeing flight from a floating pontoon facility in Talbot Bay, Western Australia with a pilot in command under supervision, a supervising pilot and 6 passengers on board. The facility had the capacity for up to 4 seaplanes to launch and dock side by side. The aircraft was moored on dock 1, the forward‑most dock.
A strong pushing on tide existed on the day with an easterly 8 kt wind. Two dockhands on the pontoon assisted the flight crew with the launch of the aircraft while the flight crew began the engine start sequence.
The environmental conditions had a greater effect on the aircraft than the crew anticipated, and the tide pivoted the front of the aircraft left around the corner of the dock, while the wind pushed the tail of the aircraft away from the pontoon. Once the aircraft was out of reach of the dock crew, the tidal movement pushed the aircraft through the water towards a houseboat at the front of the pontoon’s configuration.
The crew continued with the engine start and the aircraft started to move forward under its own power. The supervising pilot took over control, increasing engine power and bringing the propeller out of the feathered position. However, the wind continued to rotate the aircraft to the left, and the flight crew was unable to achieve sufficient forward speed through the water before the aircraft collided with the houseboat.
The aircraft’s left wing impacted first, swinging the aircraft into the bow of the houseboat, resulting in a further propellor impact. The aircraft came to rest entangled in the pontoon’s mooring lines. There were no injuries to the flight crew or passengers.
Accident investigation:
|
Sources:
https://thewest.com.au/news/broome-advertiser/horizontal-falls-atsb-investigating-float-plane-crash-at-popular-kimberley-tourist-destination-c-14660171
https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/occurrence-briefs/2024/aviation/collision-houseboat-involving-cessna-208-talbot-bay-western-australia-7-may-2024
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 14-May-2024 07:30 | gerard57 | Added |
| 24-May-2024 16:02 | ASN | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Nature, Damage, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Dec-2024 09:29 | ASN | Updated [Registration, Cn, Operator, Total occupants, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 10-Feb-2025 18:05 | ASN | Updated [Accident report, ] |
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