The pilot of a DC-3 aircraft which ditched into Botany Bay in 1994 was hailed as a hero by passengers, but later vilified by authorities.
Captain Rod Lovell's treatment is being likened to that received by Captain Chesley Sullenberger, who made a forced landing on the Hudson River in the US in 2009, which was depicted in the movie Sully.
Retired Captain Lovell tells of his 25-year battle to clear his name in a new book, From Hero to Zero - the story of Australia's very own 'Sully'.
On Sunday, April 24, 1994, Captain Lovell was flying the chartered DC3, with 25 passengers aboard, to Lord Howe Island when the aircraft developed engine problems on takeoff and he was forced to ditch into Botany Bay.
The aircraft hit the water near the end of the third runway, floated to the surface and sank again finally after about four minutes.
Sixteen of the passengers were members of the Scots College pipe and drum band, who were to play at an Anzac Day ceremony on Lord Howe Island.
Those aboard managed to open the rear door rear and throw out life rafts.
Fishermen and other boaties rushed to their rescue and all aboard were saved.
One passenger said: "I looked out and all I could see was a sea of tinnies surrounding the plane and people just hauling kids out of the water".
Lovell says he suffered 25 years of "frustration and persecution" by authorities, who crushed him financially and destroyed his professional flying career.
His licence was suspended and he spent years battling the system to prove the aircraft was a safety risk.
Lovell claims authorities gave the aircraft the all-clear, and he was a scapegoat so the case could be quickly closed.
Lovell says, in 2018, he was able to prove conclusively the plane was at fault.
"I was invited to the Netherlands to fly the only certified DC-3 simulator in the world," he said.
"We loaded the alleged conditions into the simulator computer, and we flew the simulator exactly the same as in 1994 and on one engine - the simulator climbed out as expected.
"This exercise was repeated until we recreated the flight into Botany Bay and this was only achieved when the right engine power in the simulator was reduced about 30 per cent from maximum, proving my conclusion that my DC-3 was not producing the power and it had nothing to do with the allegation of above maximum take-off weight."
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, which was established in 1995, said, "Today, we don't cancel or suspend pilot licences often and certainly not without careful examination of the circumstances and a process of natural justice for the pilot".
