Adelaide, Australia. A single-engine Cessna 210 crashed into the ocean off South Australia’s coast on Friday afternoon, February 6, 2026, killing all three people on board. Authorities said the aircraft hit the water at high speed near Long Bay.
Crash location and response
The crash occurred at about 4:20 p.m. local time at Long Bay, near the port town of Goolwa South and the Murray Mouth, about 63 kilometres south of Adelaide. South Australia Police (SAPOL) said there were no survivors.
Witness accounts and footage
Local residents and witnesses at a popular fishing spot described scenes of chaos after the crash. Tamara, a Goolwa resident who went to the area after hearing sirens, said, “There’s a lot of chaos down here, it’s scary.”
Footage captured by witnesses and shared with investigators reportedly shows the aircraft losing control and spiralling toward the water in a steep, vertical descent, with the impact creating a large plume of water.
Investigation and wreckage recovery
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) launched a formal investigation into the crash. Recovery teams worked on Saturday to retrieve the wreckage from the ocean floor for forensic examination.
ATSB spokesperson Colin McNamara said investigators will focus on the flight’s final moments, stating: “In the footage, the aircraft has come down into the water while rotating to the left in a very steep nose-down attitude… Understanding the sequence of events that led to that trajectory is central.”
Victims
Authorities said the three people on board were identified, but names were not provided in the information released.
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