A WEEKEND joy flight turned to tragedy yesterday when a light plane crashed at a property near Glen Innes, killing the two people onboard.
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The pilot of a microlight aircraft, a 51-year-old man from Oak Flats, and his 55-year-old passenger, an Albion Park woman, both died at the scene.
Police and emergency services were called to the fatal crash site – a farmstay property on Nine Mile Rd, 20 minutes north-east of Glen Innes near Dundee – around 10.30 am yesterday.
The aircraft crashed in a paddock adjoining the River Glen B& B farmstay, 150 metres from the road and 1.5 kilometres northeast from an airstrip.
The River Glenn B & B farmstay is known for recreational flying and hosts two private airstrips for microlight pilots, with a longer airstrip for light aircraft nearby.
The owners of the farmstay declined to comment.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will not be investigating the accident.
An ATSB spokesperson told The Leader it was “very rare” for the bureau to investigate microlight or ultralight aircraft accidents, even when they proved fatal.
Police investigations are continuing and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
