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The flying boat that decided to take the plunge
Andrew Tillett
20 February 2008
AN AVALON pilot yesterday discovered any landing you can swim away from is a good one.
Pittwater's peace and quiet was shattered after an ultralight 'flying boat' crash-landed into Pittwater between Stokes Point and Portuguese Beach about 9.45am.
Graham Hellier was practising take-offs and landings in his amphibious trike a cross between a mini-plane and dinghy when it may have stalled and slammed on to the water's surface, cracking the hull. Mr Hellier, who did not want to comment on his mishap last night, was unhurt.
Broken Bay water police, ambulance officers and the ambulance rescue helicopter were all called.
Lindsay Wellings, of Palm Beach Marine, saw the crash and was among the first to Mr Hellier's aid.
"We were watching him doing take-offs and landings as we worked along the wharf," Mr Wellings told The Manly Daily.
"He did one and we thought he hit that a bit hard. The next thing we knew he was upside down.
"We got out there in a boat and he was fine. He was mainly concerned about the plane.
"He had his helmet and lifejacket on and everything was OK.
"He was a little bit embarrassed. He couldn't believe it happened."
As Mr Hellier dried off, a barge towed the disabled aircraft back to his boat ramp.
Pittwater Council worker Carl Yakich, who saw the salvage operation, said the plane crashed about 100m offshore in about 21m of water
"They go pretty fast these ultralights. It tore the first few wheels off, so it must have gone down plop," he said.
A Riverview Rd neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the ultralight was a common sight on Pittwater. "He buzzes by all the time," the elderly resident said.
Recreational Aviation Australia will hold an inquiry.
The organisation is responsible for registering ultralight aircraft and their pilots but operations manager Mick Poole said it was too early to speculate on the cause of yesterday's accident. However, he believed it was the first one involving the trike, a fairly new and unique model that can take off and touch down on water and land.
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