Qld firefighting plane crash: First victim identified

The heartbroken family of a young American engineer killed in a plane crash while helping to fight bushfires in the Queensland Outback has revealed the last conversation they had with their only son.

The heartbroken family of 22-year-old William ‘Will’ Jennings, killed in a plane crash at McKinlay on Saturday while helping to fight bushfires, have revealed the last conversation they had with their only son.

The mechanical engineer was on the plane with two others when it crashed near the Eloise Copper Mine, southeast of Cloncurry on Saturday. There were no survivors.

Will’s father Joe Jennings on Monday told The Courier-Mail said the 22-year-old “always tried to help people and unfortunately that’s what he died doing”.

“He just graduated six months ago,” Mr Jennings said.

Will Jennings, 22, graduated from university in Boston in May, 2023.

“He was just a brilliant, very smart kid – he was a mechanical engineer.”

Asked about their last conversation with the 22-year-old, Mr Jennings said: “We always talked about what he was doing for the day”.

“We were just getting ready to pay all his student loans … we had a conversation about that … unfortunately that was my last conversation with him but our conversations always ended with ‘I love you’ no matter what we were talking about,” he said.

“I was actually on a Zoom call, I have a friend group, for 50 years and every Friday we get together and talk … I was with them and said ‘Hey Will is in Australia, he is taking off right now” he had just texted me … that was 8:47 and then he went offline at 9:03 (NY time).

“We need to know (what went wrong).

“We really haven’t heard much … whatever remains are left, we really want to have a proper burial for him.”

Will Jennings died in a plane crash while working to fight bushfires near Cloncurry.

Will’s mother Denise Jennings said: “He was our only son … he meant the world to us … he was so full of joy, so full of life … he loved hiking and the outdoors, he loved photography … he was so intelligent but he was so down to earth”.

“He was so kind and loving.

“He did like to travel so when he heard of the opportunity (to travel to Australia), he jumped right on it.

“He had done an internship when he was in college for a company that put together thermal imaging cameras with AI software … he helped work on the camera that was being used to map the wildfires in Australia

“(Will) assured us that it was safe, he said he would be so high up in the sky, he wouldn’t be near the fires … he was travelling from one base to another.

“He spoke to us, facetimed us, texted us every single day … he would always let us know where he was, what he was doing, when he got back, when he was going to bed – he always kept in touch with us.”

Mr Jennings was imaging fires in the bushfire-affected region when the plane went down, exploding into flames.

“His heart was always focused on making a positive impact on the world, no matter how big or small. We know that his legacy will continue to inspire others to make an impact,” a GoFundMe page read.

Mr Jennings graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, in May.

A police spokesman confirmed the Disaster Victim Identification unit will be at the crash site today.

Local MP Robbie Katter extended his condolences to the families and friends of the trio lost in the crash, asking people to keep them in their prayers.

Will Jennings was one of three people who died. (Facebook image)

Will Jennings (Facebook image)

“The work the plane’s crew members had been contracted to do on behalf of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services was important in assisting our region to respond to the ongoing bushfire threat,” he said in a statement.

“I understand a disaster victim identification team is today travelling to the crash site, and a joint investigation led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau into the incident is under way.”

The three aboard the plane operated by Victorian-based aerial firefighting firm AGAIR were found dead in the wreckage of their Rockwell 696 Jetprop aircraft.

Authorities said the trio had close ties to fire services in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the deaths a terrible tragedy.

“Our condolences and thoughts go to the loved ones of the three (people) who have been killed in this terrible accident,” she said.

“They were from a Victorian-based company, based out of Stawell, they were doing work supporting the bushfire effort in Queensland, so this really is a terrible tragedy.”

Mount Isa district officer Superintendent Tom Armitt said a disaster victim identification team would attend the crash site on Monday to confirm their identification and take the bodies home.

He said the plane had been “completely destroyed by fire” and a small, remote accident scene was being guarded by police until Australian Transport Safety Bureau officials could attend, with investigations to take several days.

“In this case, we know who was on the plane … we will be relying on the disaster victim identification team to repatriate those deceased for the relevant post mortem examinations to occur and fully identities to be confirmed from there,” Superintendent Armitt said.

“It’s a remote area, it’s far away from the large centres where the specialists come from so we need to fly everybody in to bring them to the site to do their examinations.

“There’s a short delay, obviously people will be arriving tomorrow, so we expect to be there a number of days until that’s completed.”

The aircrew team had left Toowoomba airport shortly before 11am on Saturday and were en route to Mount Isa to assist firefighting efforts through the mapping of fire-affected areas in Far North Queensland.

The Gulfstream Jetprop Commander 1000 that crashed. Picture: Yiwen Song/JetPhotos

Mine workers near Cloncurry saw the plane go down, followed by a plume of smoke, and alerted emergency services.

In a statement, AGAIR chief executive Rob Boschen said the company was “utterly devastated”.

“Authorities have confirmed three of our valued, and dearly loved staff were the only occupants of the aircraft, and there were no survivors,” he said. “We are utterly devastated, and our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the families of our staff.”

Others have paid tribute to the trio who “enriched” the lives of those they worked with and in “such a short time” became part of the QFES family.

“I am so terribly sorry for your loss. Having had some time to get to know the crew here in Qld over the past couple of months, I feel heavy with grief. They enriched my life and my understanding of firefighting aviation. Fly high gents, and rest in peace. We thank you for your service, “ Miriam Troy wrote on social media.

While Benjamin Macht wrote: “(Saturday) was a totally devastating day for our Air Operations family, with the tragic loss of 3 young crew supporting fire operations in the state”.

“I am a better person, for knowing and working with them all. May they Rest in Peace, and always fly high. Gone but never forgotten.”

Another person wrote: “These guys in such a short time became part of our QFES family”.

“They were true gentlemen and have done such an amazing job since our season started, please accept the heartfelt condolences from all of the QFES Air Operations family, we are shattered beyond belief, RIP boys.”

All Queensland Fire and Emergency Service flags were flown at half-mast to pay respects to the fallen crew.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Mike Wassing said: “The aviation community is in mourning and part of that aviation community includes our own personnel from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, as well as the NSW Fire Service and right down to Victoria.

The aircrew had previously been mapping Queensland’s southwest region to assist firefighting efforts in and around Tara.

“This aircrew has been involved in a lot of the operational jobs around Queensland, primarily given the fires that we’ve had in south west Queensland, they’ve been very active in mapping those locations,” Mr Wassing said.

QFES has since grounded several aircraft – including two waterbombers – which Mr Wassing said was normal protocol following an aviation incident and would have no impact on current firefighting operations.

The Eloise copper mine near where the plane crashed (Google Maps image)