Executive Summary
The partial wreckage of a Cessna 206 aircraft was recovered from
an area in the Gulf of Carpentaria, near where an aircraft of this
type disappeared on 24-November 1999 (ATSB Occurrence number
199905562).
Photographs and video footage of the wreckage were supplied to
the ATSB and reviewed with a view to gathering further detail
regarding the accident. The ATSB bsubsequently requested that the
propeller and attitude indicator instrument from the aircraft be
shipped to the bureau's Canberra laboratories for further study and
analysis. On the basis of damage to several aircraft articles
recovered during the initial search, the original investigation
concluded that the aircraft had impacted the water at high speed.
The findings of the recent study concurred with this. From the
attitude indicator and propeller it was possible to conclude with
good probability that the aircraft impacted the water at high speed
in an uncontrolled, inverted attitude. Evidence indicated that the
propeller was rotating at impact, although it was not possible to
determine whether the engine was developing power.
N.R. Blyth
Senior Transport Safety Investigator
Technical Analysis