Two people died when their light aircraft crashed in front of thousands of people gathering in Perth for Australia Day celebrations.
The plane broke up as it nosedived into the Swan River shortly after 5pm local time on Thursday.
Pilot Peter Lynch, 52, and his girlfriend Endah Cakrawati, 30, the sole occupants of the Grumman G-73 Mallard flying boat, were killed.
An annual fireworks display, expected to draw 300,000 people to the river, was immediately cancelled. Large crowds had already gathered and some people filmed the crash.
Father-of-three Mr Lynch was a mining executive at the Fortescue Metals Group and Ms Cakrawati was a PR manager for Cokal, an Australian-listed coal company.
Fortescue chief Nev Power said: “Peter was a great mate and all of us at Fortescue convey our deepest condolences to his family, including his three children, and to Endah’s family.”
Police today removed the plane’s fuel tanks from the water as they investigate the cause of the crash.
Witness Lloyd Douglas, who was on a boat, said the plane appeared to stall as it turned towards the city: “As he banked left he seemed to go further to the left and lose forward momentum and lost altitude fairly quickly.”
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