Two weeks after their light plane struck NQ mountain, remains of crash victims recovered
Human remains have been recovered more than two weeks after a plane crashed into a north Queensland mountain.
Emergency crews are at the site of a light plane crash in a mountainous, remote region of Queensland, inland from Mackay, Sunday, October 29. Two people have been killed in a plane crash after their aircraft crashed into a mountainous region of Queensland's Pioneer Valley, inland from Mackay.(AAP Image/Supplied by RACQ CQ RESCUE)
Two people were killed when the aircraft went down at Pioneer Valley near Mackay on October 28.
The wreckage was spotted by a rescue helicopter hours later and a crew member was winched down into the difficult terrain but found no one had survived.
A 73-year-old man and his 75-year-old wife were believed to be in the aircraft.
A recovery effort was launched within days with crews expected to be winched into the crash site.
However, Queensland Police confirmed human remains had only been recovered recently.
Windy conditions caused an initial postponement before crews had to access the area by foot due to the challenging location.
“We were able to reach the site within the past several days,” police told AAP.
“A site examination was conducted in that time and police were able to recover human remains.
“The examination was done on foot, that’s why it took some time. They had to go through some pretty rough, dangerous terrain.”
A second expedition to the site is expected to be conducted in the next two weeks depending on the weather.
The remains are yet to be formally identified.
The plane had taken off from Townsville and was bound for Mackay, where the couple were believed to be locals.
Police said the family had told officers that the 73-year-old man owned the plane and had 30 years of flying experience.
The Australian Transport and Safety Bureau 9s investigating the cause of the SOCATA TB20 Trinidad single-engine plane crash.
