Two Men Perish in Fiery Plane Crash, Sparking Bushfire Near Regional Airfield
A light plane crash near a regional airfield resulted in the tragic deaths of two men and sparked a bushfire that raged for hours. Water bombers were deployed to assist in controlling the blaze, which erupted after the fully-fueled aircraft went down north of the Gold Coast.
Emergency services swiftly responded to Heck Field, a private airstrip located north of the Gold Coast, following reports of the plane crashing in nearby bushland around 6 a.m. on Tuesday.
Authorities have identified the victims as a 73-year-old pilot from Beenleigh and a male passenger from Sydney. Both men lost their lives when the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from the Jacobs Well site, according to police statements.
The single-engine plane was on its way to a destination near Tamworth, in New South Wales, with no other occupants on board.
“The crash was so severe that neither occupant survived,” explained Police Superintendent Brett Jackson on Tuesday.
The light plane crashed near Heck Field air strip in Woongoolba. Source: AAP / Robyn Wuth
The wreckage caught alight on impact, sparking a large fire about 500 metres from the airstrip in terrain emergency services found difficult to access.
Police said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Transport safety investigators arrived on site on Tuesday afternoon.
It had been reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau that the aircraft crashed shortly after take-off.
“The aircraft was destroyed in a post-impact fire, and the pilot and passenger on board were fatally injured,” the bureau’s chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said in a statement.
Police said earlier the pilot’s flight history would be part of the investigation.
“We are aware the planned flight was to a small town just outside of Tamworth, so we have that information,” Jackson said.
“As to the intention behind the trip, I don’t actually have that information, that will form part of the investigation.”
A large plume of smoke could be seen kilometres from the crash site late on Tuesday morning, while about 50 emergency services personnel were on the scene.
The crash site has been difficult to access for the ambulance, police and fire crews due to farmland and a nearby creek.
Water bombers have been called in to help crews working to contain the large bushfire, which is burning through nearby cane paddocks and vegetation.
SES crews were also helping by ferrying resources including forensic equipment across a creek to the crash site, police said.
More than 60 hectares of land had been affected as crews worked to bring the fire under control.
The fire was finally contained about midday, but continued to burn on Tuesday afternoon.
“Conditions are not great for suppressing fire today, and we’re seeing that in the erratic fire behaviour over the last couple of hours,” Rural Fire Service Queensland chief officer Joel Gordon said.
“Also the speed in which this fire has grown with the southeaster that’s blowing which is supposed to get up to around about 30 kilometres an hour.”
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