Whyalla Airlines Flight 904

Whyalla Airlines Flight 904 was a scheduled commuter flight, operated by a Piper PA-31 Navajo which crashed while attempting to ditch in the Spencer Gulf, South Australia after suffering failures of both engines on the evening of 31 May 2000. All 8 people on board the aircraft were killed as a result of the accident. The findings of a subsequent investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau highlighting the airline's operating procedures as a key factor leading to the accident were later overturned after they were contradicted by evidence presented at a coronial inquiry into the deaths of those on board the flight. The safety implications arising from the accident led to a recall by engine manufacturer Textron Lycoming which saw close to 1000 aircraft grounded worldwide while defects were rectified at an estimated cost of $A66 million. Australia's aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority also mandated lifejackets be carried on all aircraft operating over water after the crash.

Accident

Flight 904 departed Adelaide Airport at 18:23 and climbed to an altitude of 6000 ft before turning to track directly towards Whyalla. Much of the route was flown over the waters of Gulf St Vincent and Spencer Gulf while in darkness, with a short distance crossing the isolated Yorke Peninsula. Approximately 30 minutes later the pilot notified Adelaide Air Traffic Control that he was commencing descent into Whyalla. At 19:01, the pilot issued a distress call, advising both engines had failed and he intended to ditch the aircraft if unable to make the destination. Contact with flight 904 was maintained for another three minutes, to a point approximately 15 NM from Whyalla. Shortly after the final transmission from the aircraft, the crew of another flight nearby detected a signal from an Emergency Locator Transmitter which lasted between 10 and 20 seconds.

A search and rescue operation recovered two bodies and debris from the water the following morning. On 6 June, a further five bodies were recovered by police divers from the main wreckage which had been located on the sea floor. The eighth victim was never located. The accident was the first recorded ditching involving a Piper Navajo in Australia, and the deadliest crash involving a scheduled airline since 1980.