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Two men were rescued from a sinking life raft off the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia after conducting an emergency water landing on Friday morning. The pilot was flying his Cessna 421C when he reportedly experienced engine failure and broadcast an emergency alert before ditching and evacuating with the passenger onto an inflatable life-raft.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority reported that about 8:30 a.m. (AEST) Airservices Australia alerted AMSA to an aircraft in distress. AMSA assumed coordination responsibility over the incident and two rescue helicopters and a Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft were deployed. According to LifeFlight, the site was about 35 nautical miles off the Mooloolala coast. The rescue helicopters first spotted the Cessna's tail and then two men floating close by, one was in a small life raft and one was beginning to sink and clinging on the edge. The men gave their rescuers a thumbs up to indicate they were okay and a basket was sent down to bring the men up one at a time. Within minutes, both men were in the helicopter, safe and without serious injury.
"We were able to launch in a short period of time this morning," said Andrew Caton, a RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter pilot. "Our response was so fast that we reached the crash site within minutes of them ditching, before their aircraft had disappeared completely under water. We could still see part of the wreckage. It made them easier to locate and rescue safely. Certainly, training and experience all come into being successfully piece together a complex rescue mission like this one."
According to LifeFlight, the pilot said he tried turning the aircraft around but upon realizing it would not make it back to land, he began dumping fuel and calling for help just minutes before ditching. A Royal Flying Doctor Service fixed wing aircraft was close by and followed the Cessna to keep authorities informed as the plane went down and rescue choppers arrived. The men were then airlifted to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital for assessment, but fortunately had no major injuries.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the ditching.