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Four Corners: Sept 3

Four Corners talks to the people on board a flight from Samoa that crashed on its way to Norfolk Island in 2009.

Four Corners talks to the people on board a flight from Samoa that crashed on its way to Norfolk Island in 2009. All six passengers survived.

Was pilot Dominic James a hero?

“Crash Landing”, reported by Geoff Thompson and presented by Kerry O’Brien.

On the 18th November 2009, a Pel-Air CareFlight jet took off from Apia airport in Samoa. Its destination was Norfolk Island, and then on to Melbourne. There were six people on board, including a patient with a serious medical condition. As they prepared to leave Samoa, the pilot was told the weather ahead was fine and planned his trip accordingly. But the aircraft never made it to its destination. Instead, caught in a brutal storm, the pilot ditched the plane at sea, in shark-infested waters. Miraculously, all six people on board survived.

Back on land, the Pel-Air Chairman told the media that the pilot – Dominic James – was a hero. A month later, the Civil Aviation Authority (CASA) took away James’ pilot license and his reputation was all but destroyed. Now Four Corners talks to the people on board and those involved in the flight, investigating what really happened that fateful night and in the hours leading up to the crash. Who really was at fault, and could the crash have been avoided?

Monday 3rd September at 8.30pm on ABC1.

3 Responses

  1. Another program I rarely watch but from the promo it seamed more confrontational than 4Corners. Plus given 4C is about 45 min long it was probably a more complete report than the 12 minutes on 60 Min.

    Thanks David, I didn’t think I was going crazy LOL

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