A light plane has crashed in Queensland killing the two men on board.
Emergency crews were called near Oakey Airport, north of Toowoomba, where the plane went down in a farmer’s paddock near the airstrip at 3.10pm on Sunday.
Paramedics attempted to treat both passengers at the scene but were unable to save them.
Three Queensland Fire crews also attended to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash.
Toowoomba District duty officer Senior Sergeant Matt Forbes confirmed the deaths.
‘There was a very large fireball and Queensland Fire Department did attend and extinguished the fire,’ Sergeant Forbes told the Courier Mail.
‘The male occupant of the dwelling, the property owner (where the plane crashed) was home at the time and heard a loud explosion and was able to contact (emergency services).’
Sergeant Forbes said the twin turboprop Reims Cessna F406 that crashed was a commercial plane conducting a routine flight at the time of the incident.
A light plane crashed at Oakey Airport, north of Toowoomba in Queensland, at 3pm on Saturday
A crime scene has since been established in the area which is expected to last for a ‘number of days’, he added.
Police will remain at the site assisting other emergency services during this time.
‘The Forensic Crash Unit will attend the incident and will assist partner agencies in investigating the circumstances of the incident,’ a spokesperson told 7News.
The incident has triggered an investigation by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
Investigators will soon be deployed to the area.
The plane is believed to have taken off from Warwick Airport and initial reports indicate that no mayday call was made prior to its crash.
The two people on board died, emergency services have confirmed
A spokesperson for the ATSB said its investigation will be thorough.
‘Investigators will conduct a range of evidence-gathering activities, including site and wreckage examination, and recovery of any aircraft components for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra,’ they said.
‘Investigators will also seek to interview involved parties, and collect relevant recorded information including flight tracking data, as well as pilot and aircraft maintenance records, and weather information.’
‘The ATSB asks anyone with video footage of the aircraft at any phase of the flight, or in the immediate aftermath of the accident, to make contact via the witness form on our website: atsb.gov.au/witness at their earliest opportunity.’
More to follow.
