Cessna missing around Byron Bay Lismore area

[fly_tornado]

An air and sea search is underway off the northern New South Wales coast for a recreational aircraft that disappeared on Monday afternoon with one person on board.

 

The single-engine Cessna took off from Lismore airport about 4.30pm and the alarm was raised when it had failed to return four hours later.

 

 

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/search-for-missing-plane-near-byron-bay-20160321-gnnw69.html

 

 

[red750]

Three reports in the news section of the home page. Believed to be a commercial pilot in a Cessna 172 hired from Lismore airport.

 

 

[Rotorwork]

Sadly Search Ends

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-22/light-plane-search-ends-lismore-airport-byron-bay/7266682

 

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Light plane search ends after pilot fails to return to Lismore airport

 

Updated 10 minutes ago

 

RELATED STORY: Light plane fails to return to northern NSW aerodrome

 

MAP: Lismore 2480plane took off for a short flight from Lismore Aerodrome about 4:20pm but failed to return as planned.

 

Only the pilot was on board the Cessna when it disappeared and it was last in radio contact north-east of Byron Bay.

 

An AMSA statement said the search had been called off "based on the water temperature and sea conditions in the area and expert medical advice".

 

After the alarm was raised on Monday, a rescue helicopter was called to the site about 9:00pm and searched the area without success.

 

Pilot 'could not have survived in water beyond midday'

 

The air search operations continued this morning, involving five helicopters and AMSA's Cairns-based Dornier search and rescue aircraft.

 

AMSA also tasked a NSW Police vessel from Coffs Harbour and a Volunteer Marine Rescue boat from Ballina, to conduct a search of waters near Byron Bay.

 

The AMSA said the search for the missing pilot ended at 1:00 pm and police would now take over the investigation.

 

"Basically, it's been called off based on an assessment of surviving and in this case considering water temperature, sea conditions and the time and that sort of thing," AMSA spokesman Dan Clover said.

 

"It's been decided that the pilot in this case could not of survived beyond midday today."

 

Overnight, AMSA's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre reviewed air traffic services radar information from the area, provided by AirServices Australia.

 

The information confirmed that the last contact with the plane occurred six nautical miles north-east of Byron Bay about 4.50pm.

 

NSW Police Marine Area Command will stay in the area and conduct further investigations.

 

 

[turboplanner]

"could not of survived" says it all. Don't go down unless you're in sight of your mates these days!

 

 

[rankamateur]

Are you suggesting AMSA are slacking off to cut costs Turbo?

 

 

[Geoff13]

Yet they are still looking for MH370 Go figure.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Are you suggesting AMSA are slacking off to cut costs Turbo?

Second rate English, second rate decision, not a good look.

 

 

[BLA82]

Sadly I believe it was a Qantas Pilot

 

 

[shafs64]

there is some talk that he committed suicide

 

 

[Ultralights]

there is a bit more to this than meets the eye, and goes some way to explaining the calling off the search.. no transponder, no beacon, and no way of knowing where he went.

 

 

[shafs64]

sounds like he didn't want to be found

 

 

[turboplanner]

Let's say he did want to commit suicide; people in that state of mind need to be helped, some change their mind, some attempt it and change their mind afterwards. Bottom line is that they are suffering from a serious illness, and they still deserve our help. Maybe the decision was made on technical grounds, but history shows many people surviving after the expected maximum; maybe the aircraft was in pieces, but again people have survived despite all odds.

 

 

[fly_tornado]

lets not speculate about a possible suicide, there have been scattered showers and low cloud around NNSW for a few days, could just be an accident

 

 

[shafs64]

what ever it was we have lost a brother pilot.

 

 

[rankamateur]

what ever it was we have lost a brother pilot.

Getting a lot of practice at it again lately.

 

 

[BLA82]

Getting a lot of practice at it again lately.

Unfortunately you are correct

 

 

[facthunter]

A recurring situation has no element of practice in it if the individual is dead. There does appear to be a fairly regular series of fatal events. While zero is a good aiming point It will never happen. I wonder what "normal" is? Perhaps it has no meaning if we wouldn't accept the concept. Nev

 

 

[dutchroll]

What matters is not so much the accident rate itself (though clearly lower is better), but more importantly the reasons for it.

 

There are waves and troughs of accidents, but if we're getting a bunch of weather related ones, or a bunch of engine failures, or a bunch of low flying ones, then we have specific problems to look at and seriously address.

 

 

[Ultralights]

its good to see the cultural norm of stigmatising suicide continue on, lets not talk about it, blah blah, why not? its this hiding the truth under the carpet that has created this atmosphere where people feel they cannot talk about, therefor believing they cannot get help and there is something inherently wrong with them that society must shun them.. and hence, we continue to see the tragic results. you do realise that suicide is now the BIGGEST killer of people aged between 22 and 40.. and 1.9% off ALL deaths in Australia are now suicides? (Lifeline.org.au) with stat like these, why are we not talking about it? Part of it might be self imposed, when someone asks how was your weekend? almost everyone, to friends, family, work mates, will say "it was good" when in reality, it might have been crap. why are we afraid to say, when asked the same question,"my weekend was shite, feeling crap, depressed, no idea why..." why do we all feel the need, or scared to admit the truth? not only of ourselves, but as a society? why are we scared to talk about the possibility of suicide being a cause of a tragic death, that could possibly have been avoided, if simply, we spoke of it more?

 

 

[Yenn]

Suicide is one way out of an unbearable situation. If that situation could be solved by some other means that would be very good. Imagine a pilot with an incurable illness, looking forward to pain and medical intervention. Maybe suicide would be a good option.

 

I have often wondered about end of life, but the horrors put on other people who are involved would I am sure be considered before suicide. Death by plane in the ocean would have less impact on others, except for the planes owner.

 

 

[facthunter]

I believe people have the right to take their own lives. To suggest otherwise would be a whole new ball game as far as I'm concerned..

 

Often the manner in which they do it leaves others grieving more than necessary. Sometimes no doubt the person doing it wants others to feel bad and it might be one way of getting back at them.

 

For those left there is the "What could I have said done etc that would have changed things and prevented it happening? Perhaps there would be little one could do but there is always the guilt associated with it..

 

If life is unbearable because of pain etc it's not worth continuing at times. The palliative care thing may be a whole new industry. Most pain alleviating drugs have the effect wear off over time, and side effects as well, and many don't work at all for some people so I'm a bit skeptical. It's always a shame to lose someone with potential at a young age. Strangely. during war the suicide rate drops sharply. Nev

 

 

[rankamateur]

why are we afraid to say, when asked the same question,"my weekend was shite, feeling crap, depressed, no idea why..." why do we all feel the need, or scared to admit the truth?

What flying future can a commercial pilot look forward to if he or she does seek help for depression, or if they have a medical condition that makes their medical unachievable. Even as a recreational pilot a diagnosed mental illness puts a load of extra hoops for you to climb through, for ever. Giving up the grog and changing my work life balance worked for me but it doesn't help a commercial pilot working in a company that is trying to maximise profit to the share holders instead of looking after it's people first.

 

 

[Ultralights]

What flying future can a commercial pilot look forward to if he or she does seek help for depression, or if they have a medical condition that makes their medical unachievable. Even as a recreational pilot a diagnosed mental illness puts a load of extra hoops for you to climb through, for ever. Giving up the grog and changing my work life balance worked for me but it doesn't help a commercial pilot working in a company that is trying to maximise profit to the share holders instead of looking after it's people first.

herein lies part of the problem, the fear of seeking help, and ruining your career in the process. this has to change, the body count is already high enough, the Germanwing pilot, taking 130 people with him, failed to seek help out of fear for his career, the signs were there, but ignored, to save a career, but ultimately cost well over 100 lives. our regulatory environment is responsible for that, depression and suicidal thoughts are NOT an incurable disease. but we seam, as a society, to treat it as such, ending careers of those who do find the courage to seek help.

I know of a few airline pilots, many 1000's of hours in a B747, being diagnosed with the likes of diabetes, boom, career ended. that person has since moved on to become an expert in aviation medicine. another great example is the CASA crusade against colour blindness. 30,000 safe flying hours, suddenly, unsafe! based on what safety case? another career destroyed.

 

Maybe the solution is, if someone shows to their doctor with depression, anxiety, or other symptoms, and seeks help, how about supporting that pilot, as best we can to help them get through, in the mean time, keep them flying, but as a second officer, until they are recovered? then they will have a far less of a chance of becoming suicidal having to deal with a career ending at the worst possible time for that person.

 

As mentioned, some might see suicide as a way to get back at someone, usually the heartbroken choose this path, but sadly, most suicides see it as the opposite, those people, see it as a way for them to no longer be a burden on their families and loved ones. they are suffering, see the effects on their family and friends. and decide that suicide is the only solution to end the suffering they feel they are putting their loved ones through.

 

unfortunately, its a societal norm to stigmatise suicide and mental illness, it will require time, regulatory change, and the media to stop calling it a mental illness in a bad light, and report it as a treatable medical condition that you CAN get support for,

 

i also think, in a bigger picture view, the current nanny state bubble wrapped society we live in also induces an increase in suicides. you simply cant have good old fashioned fun anymore without fear of offending someone, or someone being sued. where are all the fun park in Sydney? the NSW government has decided that no one should be out late anymore... you cant even fly a kite somewhere without breaking CASA regulations, in most people, just thinking of those regulations and rules and restrictions on everyday mundane stuff will cause most to feel a little upset and depressed.. i know it does me.

 

 

[BLA82]

What flying future can a commercial pilot look forward to if he or she does seek help for depression, or if they have a medical condition that makes their medical unachievable. Even as a recreational pilot a diagnosed mental illness puts a load of extra hoops for you to climb through, for ever. Giving up the grog and changing my work life balance worked for me but it doesn't help a commercial pilot working in a company that is trying to maximise profit to the share holders instead of looking after it's people first.

Sorry Rankamateur I have to disagree.

 

I personally know of a few commercial pilots who have suffered depression and with the correct treatment they have continued to fly. Maybe with a temporary stop but have got back there. I will put it out there in the open myself personally have suffered from anxiety and depression for 12 years and up until Christmas last year was dealing with it perfectly. Then for reasons unknown the black dog came up and bit me on the ass. Now if I was a commercial pilot I probably wasn't in a condition to fly but I knew that. I'm not a commercial pilot but I do partake in certain pastimes where I could have been a danger. Racing, motorcycle riding etc. Ultralights hit the nail on the head the Stigma with mental illness is just so wrong and many people suffer in silence. My only suggestion to anyone who is suffering from this is to talk. Talk to anyone, anyone at all. The difference in your mind you feel when you can unload some of your troubles on someone else is unbelievable. Sorry about the rant it's just a subject I feel strongly about.

 

 

[johnm]

a while back I was talking to a colleague about 'who was the person that attempted suicide' (I did not know who it was). The person stated it was them. I talked through it the best I could and was pleased I did (we did not discuss if they had sort professional help)

 

.................. if I had of known it was that person that tried to suicide would I have approached them ? - I hope I would have

 

I'd suggest that most of us would avoid that person as we would assume 'others are dealing with it'