Author Topic: Mother and son forced to swim to shore after small plane crashes at Leighton  (Read 868 times)

Offline KB4TEZ

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https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/311188

A Piper PA-28-181 Archer II crashed into the sea off Leighton Beach, North Fremantle, Perth, Western Australia, after an engine failure.
Both occupants survived the crash and the aircraft received substantial damage.

A pilot has described the horrifying moment her plane engine cut out before crashing in the ocean off Fremantle on Thursday.

Police say the plane, a Piper Aircraft Corp, crashed off Leighton Beach in North Fremantle about 5.10pm.

They said the small aircraft crashed about 20 to 30m from shore.The pilot Michelle Yeates, whose LinkedIn profile says she is a commercial pilot with Rottnest Air Taxis, was flying from Exmouth following the solar eclipse in WA’s north.

Her 15-year-old son was in the plane with her when it crashed.The pair were both able to escape the plane and swim to shore.

Ms Yeates told ABC News the engine “just cut out”.

She said she tried to pilot the plane as close to the beach as she could without hitting anybody.

“I was only at 1500 feet, I didn’t have much time to react so I just sent out a mayday to the tower and then just turned around and landed on the water,” she said.She said she was telling her son “Mate, we’ve just had engine failure, we’re going to have to land on the beach”.

“He was like ‘For real, are you for real?’. I said, ‘Hopefully this is the most exciting thing that’s going to happen in your life and we’re going to be okay.’”

She said she tried to land at the right angle so the plane didn’t flip over.

Once she landed her son got the door open quickly and they got out as the plane was going down.

A post on LinkedIn revealed that Ms Yeates began her career as a pilot seven months ago after leaving a job in the mining industry.Beverley Port-Lours was at the beach with her family when she saw the plane crash. “I saw the plane coming across the water and I at first thought it was water plane but as it came closer I realised it wasn’t,” she said.A pilot has described the horrifying moment her plane engine cut out before crashing in the ocean off Fremantle on Thursday.

Police say the plane, a Piper Aircraft Corp, crashed off Leighton Beach in North Fremantle about 5.10pm.

They said the small aircraft crashed about 20 to 30m from shore.

The pilot Michelle Yeates, whose LinkedIn profile says she is a commercial pilot with Rottnest Air Taxis, was flying from Exmouth following the solar eclipse in WA’s north.

Her 15-year-old son was in the plane with her when it crashed.

The pair were both able to escape the plane and swim to shore.

Ms Yeates told ABC News the engine “just cut out”.

She said she tried to pilot the plane as close to the beach as she could without hitting anybody.

“I was only at 1500 feet, I didn’t have much time to react so I just sent out a mayday to the tower and then just turned around and landed on the water,” she said.


She said she was telling her son “Mate, we’ve just had engine failure, we’re going to have to land on the beach”.

“He was like ‘For real, are you for real?’. I said, ‘Hopefully this is the most exciting thing that’s going to happen in your life and we’re going to be okay.’”

She said she tried to land at the right angle so the plane didn’t flip over.

Once she landed her son got the door open quickly and they got out as the plane was going down.

A post on LinkedIn revealed that Ms Yeates began her career as a pilot seven months ago after leaving a job in the mining industry.

Michelle Yeates.
Michelle Yeates. Credit: LinkedIn
“Flying is my absolute passion, I now know what it feels like to truly love what you do,” the post said.

“It’s never too late to change your mind and do something completely different. . . The sky is the limit.”


Beverley Port-Lours was at the beach with her family when she saw the plane crash. “I saw the plane coming across the water and I at first thought it was water plane but as it came closer I realised it wasn’t,” she said.
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“There was a bang when the plane hit the water,” Jordan said.

“It was pretty loud and scary.

“I’m still pretty shaken it was really unexpected.”


Bridie Jones said she arrived at the beach moments after the plane crashed.

“Everyone was just running and trying to help get the people out of the plane,” she said.

“Police got here really quick.”

Insp. Mark Caonan said the pilot thought there was an issue with the fuel and confirmed the engine stopped working. “She brought the plane down 30 metres into the clean and both of them got out uninjured,” he said.

Ms Yeates and her son were taken to hospital for observation.