Qld: Investigators hopeful of gleaning clues from plane wreckage

AAP General News (Australia)
08-09-2006
Qld: Investigators hopeful of gleaning clues from plane wreckage

By Roberta Mancuso

BRISBANE, Aug 9 AAP - Air crash investigators say they will be able to glean vital
information from the wreckage of a plane that crashed into a home in suburban Brisbane,
despite extensive damage.

Five Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigators were today picking through the
remains of the Cessna 182 after it plunged into the roof of the home at Darra, in Brisbane's
south-west, shortly before noon yesterday.

The four-seater aircraft then landed upside down in the back yard and burst into flames.

Homeowner Brett McDonald dragged 29-year-old pilot John Haire from the burning cockpit
of the plane only moments after the dramatic crash.

Mr Haire "miraculously" walked away from the inferno, with burns to his arms and legs,
respiratory burns and cuts and bruises to his chest.

He is in an induced coma recovering from his injuries.

Mr McDonald, 41, his wife, 36, and 12-year-old daughter, who suffered a minor head
wound from the falling ceiling, were home at the time.

ATSB investigator-in-charge Mike Cavenagh today said a truck and a crane were expected
to remove the wreckage from the back yard by late today.

The plane's engine would be taken to nearby Archerfield Airport where investigators
would begin pulling it apart and searching for clues, he said.

Fuel samples would also be examined.

"We're looking for anything abnormal or unusual," Mr Cavenagh said.

"Even though the aircraft's been badly burned, there's still a lot of information we
can get out of it by way of whether things were connected or not at the time of impact.

"Some important parts of the plane such as the aircraft (body) and some of the control
surfaces haven't been burnt so we can examine them fairly well and thoroughly."

Shocked neighbours who witnessed the crash said the plane was "spluttering" and bellowing
plumes of white smoke shortly before it crashed.

Mr Cavenagh said it was too early to say what caused the plane to crash, saying that
may not be known for months.

He said about six witnesses had so far been interviewed and investigators hoped to
speak with Mr Haire in the coming weeks. They are also trying to find some amateur video
of the crash.

"All sources of information in something like this are important to us," he said. "We
need as much information as we can get."

Mr McDonald, who was today back at the house helping investigators, said he was keen
to visit Mr Haire once he was out of his coma.

"I'd like to go say g'day and see how he's going and sort of catch up," Mr McDonald said.

AAP rm/sc/jt/sd

KEYWORD: PLANE (FILE PIX AVAILABLE)

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