A Sydney pilot and former
Bachelor of the Year nominee has been hailed a hero after crashing his jet into the sea off Norfolk Island.
Dominic James lost his plane, but saved his co-pilot and four passengers when they were forced to ditch two kilometres offshore.
However, questions are being raised about why the plane ran out of fuel and whether Mr James failed his Qantas pilot exams.
Mr James was flying the Westwind jet on a medivac mission for Careflight from Western Samoa to Melbourne, with a re-fuelling stop at Norfolk Island.
On board were two crew members, two medics, the patient and her husband.
“Their skill in those difficult circumstances – in the dark, on water…managing put that plane down safely was the only reason we all managed to get out in one piece.,” says Dr David Helm, a passenger on the flight.
But low clouds and bad weather forced them to circle, until the plane ran out of fuel and was forced to ditch.
All six passengers survived, uninjured.
“He flew that aircraft as well as any pilot in this world could have flown that aircraft,” says John Sharp from Pel-Air aviation.
Comparisons are being made with New York's Hudson River landing.
“If you'd spent 90 minutes in the water, in the dark, with the aircraft sunk beside you, you’d know how lucky you'd have been,” says Ian Badham of Careflight.
But critics want to know why the plane ran out of fuel, why Mr James did not fly to New Zealand, and whether or not he passed his pilot exams with Qantas.
One aviation blogger describes likening this landing to that on the Hudson River as a “load of weak-minded idiotic drivel”.
The blogger says Mr James simply ran out of fuel, he did not have an alternate plan, and a full inquiry should be held.
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