Nose-Dive Tragedy Off Adelaide Coast Claims 3 Lives, Including Veteran Pilot
Three people were killed when a light plane crashed into the ocean off Long Bay near Goolwa, south of Adelaide, on Feb. 6. The victims include 53-year-old pilot Leo Howard (a Morphett Vale resident and instructor at Goolwa Air), an 18-year-old man named Tristan Scheffer, and a 20-year-old man whose name has not been released. Witness footage shows the aircraft spiraling nose-down before hitting the water. SAPOL recovered the wreckage and Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators are examining flight data, maintenance records and the wreckage as part of an ongoing probe; witnesses are urged to share footage and a coroner’s report is being prepared, with a preliminary ATSB update due in about eight weeks.