Australian LAT suffers non-fatal crash
A Boeing 737 ‘Fireliner’ large air tanker (LAT) operated by Coulson Aviation crashed on Monday – both pilots were unharmed
According to a statement by the Western Australian Department for Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), the aircraft, known as ‘Phoenix’, left Busselton-Margaret River Regional Airport at around 15:30hrs local time, responding to a bushfire in the Fitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia. It came down at around 16:15hrs.
The aircraft’s two pilots managed to free themselves from the wreckage following the incident, escaping with only minor injuries. Local police received the report of the aircraft’s crash at approximately 16:40hrs.
A helicopter was also dispatched to transfer the two pilots to Ravensthorpe Airport, before they were subsequently transferred to a nearby hospital.
Both DFES and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have confirmed that they will conduct investigations into the cause of the crash.
Phoenix was supplied by Coulson under a two-year contract with the Australian government signed at the end of last year.