2023 Coulson Aviation Boeing 737 crash
N619SW, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed in 2022
Accident
Date6 February 2023 (2023-02-06)
SummaryCrashed into terrain, under investigation
SiteFitzgerald River National Park, Western Australia
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-3H4[lower-alpha 1]
OperatorCoulson Aviation (Australia)
Call signBMBR139
RegistrationN619SW
Flight originBusselton Margaret River Airport
Occupants2
Passengers0
Crew2
Fatalities0
Injuries2
Survivors2

On 6 February 2023, a Boeing 737-300 owned by Coulson Aviation and used as an air tanker crashed in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia while fighting multiple fires. The two crew members aboard—both pilots—survived with minor injuries and were taken to hospital.[1][2][3] The crash resulted in the first hull loss of a Boeing 737 in Australia.[4]

Timeline

On 6 February 2023, at 12:08 pm, the aircraft involved took off from the Busselton Margaret River Airport on the first of three missions that day to respond to a fire near Hopetoun. En route to the fires, the aircraft climbed to 29,000 feet (8,800 m), before descending to around 700 feet (210 m) over the fire zone once. It returned to the same airport at 1:26 pm. After taking on a new retardant load, it took off at 1:50 pm for the second mission. The aircraft climbed out of the area and returned to its base at 3:08 pm, after descending once over the fire zone.

On its third mission, it took off at 3:32 pm. This time the air tanker descended two times over the fire zone, crashing at 4:14 pm while executing the second descent in the Fitzgerald River National Park.[5][2][4]

Investigation

Following the accident, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau announced that a team was being assembled from Perth and Canberra to investigate the crash.[2][6] The crash is still under investigation.

A report of the preliminary investigation released on 3 May 2023 stated that the aircraft had hit a ridge line while dropping retardant at a low altitude. Seconds earlier, the pilots had attempted to pitch the aircraft up, but its engines had not had sufficient time to accelerate. After the aircraft had slid to a rest, the pilots had been able to escape through the left side cockpit window only sustaining minor injuries.[7]

Aircraft

N619SW, the aircraft involved in the accident, while still in service with Southwest Airlines in 2006

The aircraft involved in the crash was a 27-year-old Boeing 737-300, with serial number 28035 and registered as N619SW. The aircraft was the 2762nd 737 built, and was delivered new to Southwest Airlines in November 1995. It was retired by Southwest in August 2017 and transferred to Coulson Aviation later that month. After a period of storage and conversion, it began operating as an air tanker in July 2022.[8][9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The aircraft was a Boeing 737-300 model; Boeing assigned a unique code for each company that bought one of its aircraft from 1958 until 2017, which is applied as a suffix to the model number at the time the aircraft is built. "H4" denotes an aircraft built for Southwest Airlines, hence the designation 737-3H4.

References

  1. ↑ "Rescue mission launched after firefighting aircraft crashes in WA's Great Southern". 7NEWS. 6 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Fiore, Briana; Di Iorio, Olivia; Richards, Abby (6 February 2023). "Two pilots survive after 737 large air tanker crashes in Fitzgerald River National Park while battling bushfires". ABC News. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Myles, Cameron (6 February 2023). "Plane crashes as firefighters battle blaze in WA's south". WAtoday. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 Perpitch, Nicolas; Pin, Phoebe; Wong-See, Tim (7 February 2023). "Boeing 737 crash pilots walk away from fiery wreckage as Mark McGowan hails their survival a 'miracle'". ABC News. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. ↑ Boon, Tom (6 February 2023). "Breaking: A Boeing 737-300 Has Crashed Fighting Fires In Australia". Simple Flying. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  6. ↑ Meier, Ricardo (6 February 2023). "Boeing 737 'firefighter' crashes in Australia". Air Data News. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  7. ↑ Bourke, Keane; Burmas, Grace (3 May 2023). "Boeing 737 clipped ridge line before crash and pilots made 'remarkable' escape, report finds". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "N619SW Coulson Aviation Boeing 737-300". planespotters.net. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  9. ↑ Gabbert, Bill (17 July 2022). "Another 737 air tanker takes to the skies -". -. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
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