On Jan 30, 2012, a Micro Aviation Bantam B22S that took off from Westport Airport with two aboard went missing Wednesday. The plane was found on Jan 31, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. on Carters Beach, near Westport. The two local men aged 58 and 25, who were aboard did not survive.
The bodies of the two men aboard were found beside the plane.
A dense sea fog descended at 9 pm when the plane had been aloft and may have been instrumental in the cause of the accident. Locals heard two loud bangs but don’t know if the sound was connected to the accident. The wreckage is not far from the airport.
Peter Ashby father of the crash victim Cole, 25, found the wreckage of the plane carrying his son and pilot Roger Smith, 58. Cole was found dead about a kilometre away, swept away by the tide.
Cole was a machine operator at Stockton opencast mine who enjoyed “motocross, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skiing, drift cars.”
The accident is under investigation.