A 73-year-old pilot and a male passenger have died in a light plane crash near the Gold Coast, which sparked a large bushfire. The single-engine aircraft went down in bushland near Heck Field, a private airstrip north of the Gold Coast, shortly after takeoff at about 6am on Tuesday.
The wreckage caught fire on impact, igniting a blaze that spread through nearby cane paddocks and vegetation. Emergency services, including water bombers, were called to contain the fire, which produced a large plume of smoke visible for kilometres.
Police confirmed the pilot was from Beenleigh, Queensland, and the passenger is believed to be from Sydney. They were the only occupants of the plane, which was headed for a town near Tamworth, New South Wales. Superintendent Brett Jackson described the crash as 'so significant that both occupants were unable to survive'.
The crash site was difficult to access due to farmland and a creek, requiring State Emergency Service crews to ferry resources, including forensic equipment, across the waterway. About 50 emergency services personnel were on the scene.
Police said it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash. The pilot's flight history will be investigated as part of the probe into the planned flight from the private airstrip.
