Light plane plunges into the ocean south of Adelaide 6/2/26]]

[red750]

A search and rescue is under way after a light plane crashed into the ocean south of Adelaide.

 

The aircraft plunged into Long Bay, off Goolwa South, just before 4.30pm local time (5pm AEDT) today.

 

Emergency services, including water police and a helicopter, are at the scene trying to find the occupants.

 

It's unclear how many people were on board at the time.

 

The incident happened in front of several witnesses out on the bay this afternoon. 

[FlyingVizsla]

The ABC report

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-06/light-plane-crash-at-goolwa-south/106316008

 

[RenegadeMan]

Video footage. Sadly, that looks like an unsurvivable stall-spin accident:
https://x.com/7NewsAdelaide/status/2019694673267400809?s=20

[FlyBoy1960]

any guesses on type ?   Looks like a Cessna (i mean really, not a journalist's Cessna)

[BurnieM]

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/566418

 

[KRviator]

11 hours ago, RenegadeMan said:

Video footage. Sadly, that looks like an unsurvivable stall-spin accident:
https://x.com/7NewsAdelaide/status/2019694673267400809?s=20

That'll do it, every time...

[onetrack]

ABC News and SAPOL have confirmed three men aged 57, 18 and 19 are deceased as a result of the crash. 

 

Three men dead after light plane crash near Goolwa South, police say - ABC News

WWW.ABC.NET.AU

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Police were called to the Long Bay area near Goolwa South on Friday afternoon after reports of a light plane crashing into the ocean.

 

[turboplanner]

The C210 wreckage has been brought ashore.

[facthunter]

These Planes don't enter spins easily, or want to stay in them.   I wonder If we will Know what happened?   Spin training hasn't been done Properly since the Mid 60's. Nev

[djpacro]

1 hour ago, facthunter said:

These Planes don't enter spins easily, or want to stay in them. .. Spin training hasn't been done Properly since the Mid 60's. Nev

"These Planes" I've never flown a 210 but I have done spins in many types. Some are reluctant to spin for normal practice spins but I usually manage to shock instructor trainees with an entry from a skidded turn with some power on. NASA did extensive spin tests on a 172 - with the CG further aft than its utitility category limit and readily enters a spin, move the CG further back (but within the normal category limits) and it will become unrecoverable.

 

Certainbly agree with Nev on the parlous state of spin training in this country but probably not relevant here - more important is spin prevention. I see some flight schools train for the test and largely ignore the stall situations which won't be tested.

 

From the book, Stall/Spin Awareness, by Rich Stowell:

"“In the early 1970s …. a couple of flight instructors reported difficulty in recovering from spins. A representative from the FAA subsequently flew many different 150s with Cessna test pilots. No problems were found with the airplanes. The FAA representative then went into the field to address questions about the 150’s spin characteristics. The representative was met with considerable misunderstanding about spins in general and the Cessna 150 in particular. ….. The instructors responsible for launching this investigation apparently did not know the effect of aileron inputs during spins. Nor did they understand the importance of proper recovery control sequencing. Recognizing this problem, the FAA published an eight-page Flight Instructor Bulletin devoted to spinning. The FAA also sponsored a prototype stall/spin clinic and Cessna published a supplementary pamphlet … “

We are in a similar situation again now.

 

[onetrack]

It may have been a medical episode, if the older pilot was flying - and the younger men either had little idea on what to do, or couldn't take control fast enough.

 

But if it was one of the younger men flying, perhaps the crash was a lack of spin training. We will no doubt get all the important details from the ATSB shortly.

 

At least they have good video footage of the crash available to them. It appears there were quite a number of witnesses relatively close by.