Catalyst for change: Calls for infrastructure upgrade after Abrolhos plane crash shows emergency service gaps

The light plane crash at the Abrolhos Islands last week has reinforced the need for upgraded emergency services and infrastructure for the island chain, according to local stakeholders. The pilot and six passengers, including two children, were uninjured when a GippsAero GA8 Airvan overshot the runway at Rat Island on Thursday, April 6 and crashed into the water. The Shine Aviation aircraft was partially submerged in water for five days until it could be retrieved with a helicopter winching it out of the water and taking it back to the mainland. The strategic direction of the State Government signals the intention to better position the Abrolhos as a sustainable, nature-based tourism destination, and to support regional economic growth. The only issue with growing tourism, stakeholders say, is the provision of essential lifesaving emergency services have not be improved on the same scale. Local commercial fisherman and president of the Easter Group Abrolhos body corporate, Anthony Haygarth, said last week’s crash “highlights the need for improvement in emergency response capability within the Mid West”. The problems come down to the absence of a rescue helicopter in close proximity, for the function of medivac, land and marine based assistance. The State Opposition has been calling for a rescue helicopter to be based in Geraldton. “It opens up the discussion for a Geraldton-based rescue helicopter. It would solve a lot of these issues,” Mr Haygarth said. The existing jetty on Rat Island belongs to the State Government and is not publicly accessible. Owner and operator of commercial charter cruise company Eco-Abrolhos, Jay Cox said the air strip on Big Rat was “key to the whole of the Abrolhos tourism operation, it’s a handy airstrip — we just need better access and a public jetty”. Upgrades to the seasonal nursing post on Rat Island were completed last month, costing $280,000. The body corporate put in $25,000 of their own funds, while the rest was funded by the Western Australian Country Health Service. “There are a number of changes that need to occur, but there is no State Government funding,” Mr Haygarth said. Mr Haygarth said the conversations going forward would include seeing “if the government have an appetite to look at lengthening the air strip to allow for RFDS (Royal Flying Doctor Service) planes to land”. “At the moment were limited to medivacs being conducted by contracted Geraldton-based air charter companies,” he said. When asked about the logistics of boating evacuees to the safety of an airstrip, Mr Cox said: “We can use the Wallabi air strip, but to get there from the Southern Group (of islands) you’re going 30 miles, but Geraldton is 35 miles — you may as well just go all the way to Geraldton.” Should the RFDS or RAC rescue helicopter be needed, their closest aircrafts are located in Perth and need to stop for fuel on their journey up. The time it takes for the aircraft to reach the Mid West are crucial, lifesaving hours. Mr Haygarth said: “As part of the new management plan, they’re going to expand tourism at the Abrolhos — and with that there needs to be some consideration about how they’re going to evacuate people in emergencies. There needs to be a capacity to airlift people off the island in a timely manner. They’ll be able to service all islands including ones without airstrips, crashes on the highway and everything else.” “In the absence of the helicopter, we’d like to see the airstrip lengthened so we can accommodate for RFDS planes landing at Rat Island, which is central in the Abrolhos.” Before last week’s crash, there had been two other light plane crashes at the Abrolhos in the past five years, with no injuries. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s investigation of last week’s incident could take up to nine months.