ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 90446
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| Date: | Tuesday 22 February 2011 |
| Time: | 7.:30 |
| Type: |  Cessna 210L Centurion |
| Owner/operator: | D & M Hart Pty Limited |
| Registration: | VH-BEV |
| MSN: | 21059709 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Near the Victoria River, NT -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Bullo River Station, NT |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A female pilot has been rescued by her husband in a helicopter after she crash-landed her plane and swam through a crocodile-infested river in the Northern Territory.
Maralee Rancher, aged 49, took-off in a single-engine Cessna from the Bullo River Station, about 350 kilometres south-west of Darwin, when the engine failed about 7.30am.
She made an emergency landing on a mud flat near the edge of the Victoria River. She walked about one kilometre up the bank but due to the incoming tide she was forced to swim across the river, a known habitat for saltwater crocodiles.
She then set off an emergency beacon, which was picked up by authorities who notified her helicopter pilot husband. He flew to her location and found her safe and well on the banks of the river.
"We've got eight metre tides down here on the Vic, they're just huge and the tide changes so violently it causes like a wall of water. You could surf it, it's like having a big wave coming up the river. Within half an hour of the tide turning I couldn't see the plane anymore."
Brevet Sergeant Michael Lunney said: "This could have ended tragically but due to her fast thinking, flying experience and activation of her beacon, not only was she rescued swiftly, but by her husband no less."
Sources:
1. http://www.efarming.com.au/News/general/22/02/2011/130788/pilot-crash-lands-swims-across-croc-infested-river.html
2. https://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/443553-pilot-crash-lands-swims-croc-infested-river.html
3. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-02-22/pilot-crash-lands-swims-in-croc-infested-river/1953192
4. http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/VH-BEV.html
5. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1156651/
6. http://www.aeroclub.net.au/queryac.php?query=&id=635&start=5&expand=BEV
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_River_(Northern_Territory)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 22-Feb-2011 14:26 | gerard57 | Added |
| 23-Feb-2011 04:20 | Fusko | Updated [Operator, Damage, Narrative] |
| 04-Oct-2011 13:28 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2014 18:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 11-Apr-2014 18:18 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 07-Jun-2022 12:50 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
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