Recovery of a Single Engine Air Tanker that crashed in a Portugal lake, July 3, 2019. Photo by BV Cernache do Bonjardim.A single engine air tanker (SEAT) crashed while scooping water on a lake in Portugal on July 3, 2019. It happened near Trizio, in the municipality of Sertã, in Castelo Branco.
Just after the aircraft’s pontoons made contact with the water the aircraft tipped forward and may have flipped once or twice. It settled upright for a short while as the uninjured pilot self-extricated, then it sank in 25 meters of water.
The aircraft had been based at Proença-A-Nova, in Castelo Branco district.
It appears in the video below that the landing gear was down as it began scooping.
,
Divers with the Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Cernache do Bonjardim (BV Cernache do Bonjardim) recovered the aircraft from the lake bottom by attaching air bags. When it surfaced it was towed to the shore. These photos by BV Cernache do Bonjardim are used with their permission.
Recovery of a Single Engine Air Tanker that crashed in a Portugal lake, July 3, 2019. Photo by BV Cernache do Bonjardim.
Recovery of a Single Engine Air Tanker that crashed in a Portugal lake, July 3, 2019. Photo by BV Cernache do Bonjardim.
Pontoons from a Single Engine Air Tanker that crashed in a Portugal lake, July 3, 2019. Photo by BV Cernache do Bonjardim.
Sonar was used in the recovery of a Single Engine Air Tanker that crashed in a Portugal lake, July 3, 2019. Photo by BV Cernache do Bonjardim.
2 Comments
Yep, the landing gear was down, I knew it as soon as I watched the video a few days ago.
The beach photo proves it.
Always happy to hear he survived.
Comments are closed for this article!