18 replies to this topic

[Cyril Washbrook]

A helicopter went down last night in South Australia around 7:30pm CST. An ABC news crew, including the correspondent Paul Lockyer, was known to be on a chopper in the area and the corporation has been unable to contact them. More here.

[PZ.]

Reports coming through the (yet to be confirmed) ABC chopper had burst into flames and crashed and the police were able to identify two bodies at the site of the wreckage and are still searching the area.

[bambbbam]

This is sad indeed. I've always thought of Paul Lockyer as a very solid reporter - he would have been on air a long time?

[dbrmuz]

SMH have reported it as confirmed:ABC NEws Crew dead in hlicopter crash

Three members of an ABC news team are dead following a helicopter crash at Lake Eyre in South Australia.

They are reporter Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean.

Shocking news,very sad.

[Cyril Washbrook]

I haven't seen official confirmation come through, but the ABC now believes it's a foregone conclusion. It's a terrible, terrible day for the ABC and the news industry. They'll be sorely missed.

[Cyril Washbrook]

ABC News online has a collection of comments on the lives and deaths of the three members of the crew.

More from The Spy Report here.

All three members of an ABC news crew were killed in a helicopter crash in South Australia on Thursday night, the corporation believes.

The ABC's managing director Mark Scott said this morning that the broadcaster was preparing to receive news of the deaths of the reporter Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and helicopter pilot Gary Ticehurst, who were gathering news footage in the Lake Eyre area yesterday.

Police said this morning that they had reached the site of the helicopter crash and that three people had been found dead among the wreckage; official confirmation of the names of the deceased individuals is expected later today.

"A local tour guide alerted emergency authorities to the incident at about 7pm last night. They rushed to the scene but the three persons on board the helicopter at the time of the crash have sadly died," the police said in a statement.

[Cyril Washbrook]

A tour operator working at Cooper Inlet said that the helicopter came down shortly after taking off around 7:00pm last night. Audio link is here.

This is sad indeed. I've always thought of Paul Lockyer as a very solid reporter - he would have been on air a long time?

More than 42 years as a radio and television journalist. Joined the ABC as a cadet in 1969, and became a (hugely respected) foreign correspondent reporting from the Asian region in 1979. He also had a long stint with the Nine Network during the 1990s.

[Cyril Washbrook]

State editions of 7.30 will be replaced tonight by a national programme paying tribute to Lockyer, Bean and Ticehurst.

7.30 pays tribute to ABC crewmen

In a special edition of 7.30 tonight, the program pays tribute to three outstanding ABC crewmen: Journalist Paul Lockyer, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean.

The ABC crew are feared dead after their chopper apparently crashed near Lake Eyre yesterday evening.

7.30 presenter Leigh Sales will host the program.

State based editions of 7.30 will be replaced by the national program tonight.

7.30 will air on ABC1 tonight.

[Cyril Washbrook]

Press conference: police say that four investigators are currently at the crash site. Positive identification of the victims "could take some days" because of the destructiveness of the fire that took place when the helicopter crashed. The crash site covers a wide area. Police do not expect there to be any survivors.

[Timothy]

Very sad news. I thought their reporting from Lake Eyre over the last couple of years had been some of the best from the ABC in recent times.

[bambbbam]

Nice piece currently on ABC24 featuring Ray Martin & Kerry O'Brien talking about their memories of the deceased.

[kevizz]

Truly terrible news, my deepest sympathies to their family and friends. Andrew Geoghegan looked a bit teary reading out comments on the ABC's tribute page on News 24, I can't imagine how hard it would be for him and all their other colleagues to report on this.

Edited by kevizz, 19 August 2011 - 03:14 PM.

[Dr. Keats]

Just awful...

Worth noting that it's not the first time the ABC has lost a crew in a helicopter accident - producer Patricia Ludford, cameraman Frank Parnell, and pilot James Riley were killed in December 1966 while filming shots of the Sydney skyline for the series "Breakaways". Parnell kept his camera running throughout, while a camera crew on the ground also caught footage of the helicopter's last moments.

And HSV-7 also lost a news crew in a helicopter accident, in 1982...

[go_russ_go]

I had the privilege to work with and learn from Paul many years ago. One of the few gentlemen in tv news. And a half decent golfer. Missed.

[TelevisionAU]

Just awful...

Worth noting that it's not the first time the ABC has lost a crew in a helicopter accident - producer Patricia Ludford, cameraman Frank Parnell, and pilot James Riley were killed in December 1966 while filming shots of the Sydney skyline for the series "Breakaways". Parnell kept his camera running throughout, while a camera crew on the ground also caught footage of the helicopter's last moments.

[Digitaldan]

Just awful...

Worth noting that it's not the first time the ABC has lost a crew in a helicopter accident - producer Patricia Ludford, cameraman Frank Parnell, and pilot James Riley were killed in December 1966 while filming shots of the Sydney skyline for the series "Breakaways". Parnell kept his camera running throughout, while a camera crew on the ground also caught footage of the helicopter's last moments.

And HSV-7 also lost a news crew in a helicopter accident, in 1982...

And Channel 10 Brisbane - this first crash wasn't fatal but the second in 1998 involving the same pilot was.

[Cyril Washbrook]

Another ABC veteran has passed away as well: Ian Carroll was until recently the corporation's director of innovation. He has died from pancreatic cancer, ABC News reports.

[Johnson28]

This is one of the darkest days in the ABC's history. Very sad.

[Johnson28]

At the memorial service for John Bean in Brisbane today, it was announced that the television news and current affairs camera category at the annual Queensland Media Awards would be renamed the "John Bean Award".