The inquiry into a
helicopter crash that killed a pilot in a remote Kimberley gorge has
found he fatally blundered by clipping an overhanging rock while taking a
solo sightseeing flight.
Angus “Gus” Mundell, 40, was flying the
Robinson R22 Beta chopper near the Louisa Downs property, a cattle
station about 115km south-west of Halls Creek, when it plunged into
water at the base of the gorge in October.
Mr Mundell had been
working for his brother-in-law Milton Jones, the central identity in
reality TV show Keeping up with the Joneses.
An Australian
Transport Safety Bureau investigation concluded Mr Mundell, who was
based in the Northern Territory but living at the nearby Larrawa station
at the time of the crash, was not familiar with the gorge when he flew
in - and clipped the side of the cavern on the way out.
Another
helicopter had flown to the gorge, and the pilot of the other chopper
and his passenger were swimming when they saw Mr Mundell fly in and
hover overhead.
The witnesses looked up in horror as his chopper clipped the gorge as it attempted to fly out.
“One
of the witnesses recalled hearing two bangs, the second louder than the
first, moments after the helicopter had fallen out of view,” the ATSB
report said.
“The swimmers returned to the inner gorge to find
the helicopter submerged, on its right side with substantial damage. The
pilot was trapped in the wreckage and, despite a number of attempts,
could not be extricated.”
Accident investigators concluded once Mr Mundell had flown into the gorge, he had no choice but to try and get out.
“The
pilot descended into the gorge without full appreciation of the risks
that would be involved in flying out of the gorge,” the ATSB said.
“Once
the helicopter was inside the gorge there was sufficient space to hover
and reverse direction, but with nowhere to land and no other exit path,
the pilot was committed to climb out through the narrow opening.”
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