Sea World chopper crash: Investigation reveals issue with seatbelt use

Australia’s air crash investigator has issued a safety alert following the horror Sea World helicopter crash earlier this year which claimed four lives, saying some passengers were not wearing correctly fitted seatbelts.

Australia’s air crash investigator has issued a safety alert following the horror Sea World helicopter crash earlier this year which claimed four lives, saying some passengers were not wearing correctly-fitted seatbelts.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has issued the safety advisory notice as part of the ongoing investigation into the mid-air collision between two joy flight choppers over the Gold Coast’s Southport Broadwater on January 2.

“Our investigators have identified that some passengers’ seatbelts in both helicopters involved in this accident were not fitted correctly, in part due to interference from their life jackets,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says the seatbelt issue would not have contributed to the deaths of the passengers in the Sea World crash. Picture: Scott Powick

“However, it is very important to stress we have not attributed the outcomes from this tragic accident to the fitment of seatbelts and lifejacket interference, as the nature of the second helicopter’s collision with the sandbar would typically be non-survivable, and a range of other factors beyond seatbelts contribute to occupant safety in aircraft accidents.

“But our investigation has identified that there appears to be a broader issue across the scenic flight industry where there are misunderstandings as to how seatbelts and life jackets should be worn.”

Mr Mitchell said the investigation into the crash had identified a potentially common lack of understanding in the broader helicopter tourism community about how ‘constant wear’ life jackets should be worn in conjunction with seatbelts.

The bureau has issued a Safety Advisory Notice to both aircraft lifejacket manufacturers and national aviation certification authorities encouraging them to provide guidance to aircraft operators about how to fit a constant wear lifejacket so that it does not interfere with the proper fitment of seatbelts.

The crash claimed the lives of Sea World Helicopters chief pilot Ash Jenkinson, British newlyweds Ron and Diane Hughes and Sydney mum Vanessa Tadros.

Mrs Tadros’s 10-year-old son Nicholas, Victorian tourist Winnie de Silva and her son Leon, 9, suffered critical injuries while four New Zealand tourists were seriously injured.

A Sea World helicopter is removed from the scene after the horrific crash that claimed four lives. Picture: NewsWire / David Clark

The ATSB’s initial report into the tragedy found Mr Jenkinson and the other pilot, Michael James, may not have seen each other or even communicated in the lead-up to the mid-air collision above the Southport Broadwater.

Neither chopper had radio call recorders, their collision avoidance systems were not fully operational and one of the aircraft had a faulty transponder which Sea World Helicopters knew about, the report found.