Bodies of Gold Coast father, son found in plane wreck

Two well-known Gold Coast men, a father and son, have been killed in a light plane crash near Coffs Harbour.

Matthew Hills lived life to the full.

A GOLD Coast father and son have been found dead inside the wreckage of a light plane which crashed in dense bushland near Coffs Harbour.

The plane was spotted in thick and mountainous scrub 27km west of Coffs early Saturday morning, a day after it was reported missing during a routine flight from a small airfield at Murwillumbah in the Tweed Valley bound for Taree in northern NSW.

The Mooney M20 four-seater had only been based at the Bob Whittle Airfield for a few weeks after it was sold by a man in WA.

Onboard were Matty Hills, 25, and his 59-year-old dad Jeffrey.

Matty Hills embraced adventure, his Facebook page filled with pictures of skydiving, wake boarding and motorbike riding.

Friends on Saturday night paid tribute to their mate on social media, with several updating their profile pictures in a sign of solidarity.

Matthew Hills, 25, was tragically killed in a light plane crash alongside his father.

The family has strong ties to Emmanuel College on the Gold Coast, where the brothers attended school and their dad served on the board.

He was also prominent in the Gold Coast Christian Family Church and ran a building services company.

Pilots at the airfield yesterday said the mountains around Coffs Harbour were notoriously difficult to negotiate for small planes.

Plane crash victim Matthew Hills, 25.

“The conditions for flying would not have been the best,” said one pilot.

“There’s been a lot of smoke and there’s fog and mist at that time of day so visibility is not ideal.

“And the wind barrels through there - it can really knock the plane around a bit.”

Bad weather yesterday prevented the rescue helicopter from accessing the wreckage.

A statement from NSW Police described weather conditions as “poor” with rain and low cloud hampering search efforts.

Instead, police and emergency services personnel negotiated steep and heavily wooded terrain to get to the plane.

Inside, they discovered the bodies of the Gold Coast father and son.

NSW Police Chief Inspector Brendan Gorman said the wreckage was found in difficult terrain.

“The plane was located on a ridge-line just above the Gleniffer area where it struck the side of the mountain,” he said.

“This operation was made difficult by what we needed to do to get to the location.”

Murwillumbah Aero Club president Brenton Smith said the men had only been around the airfield a few times but the tragedy had still rocked the tight-knit community.

The wreck Mooney M20. Picture: NSW Police

“Something like this hits the flying fraternity really hard,” he said.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau announced they would be investigating the crash.

“Wreckage of the aircraft, which was on a private flight from Murwillumbah to Taree, was found in the Dorrigo National Park, west of Coffs Harbour, early on Saturday morning by a rescue helicopter as part of a search coordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA),” the ATSB said in a statement.

“ATSB transport safety investigators with experience in aircraft operations and maintenance are planning to deploy to the accident site over the weekend.

“As part of the investigation, the ATSB will examine the wreckage, study weather information, assess aircraft and pilot records, interview witnesses, and review any available recorded data.”

Anyone who saw or heard the light plane flying in the vicinity of Mount Moombil and Dorrigo National Park on Friday morning should call the ATSB on 1800 992 986 or visit the organisation’s website.