Alwyn and Jenny Rogash’s remains recovered after Finch Hatton plane crash

Police have recovered the bodies of a married couple a month after they were killed by a tragic plane crash in a ‘remote rainforest area’ taking hours to reach by foot.

Police have recovered the bodies of the married couple a month after they were killed by a tragic plane crash in a “remote rainforest area” taking hours to reach by foot.

The bodies of a couple have been recovered a month after they were killed by a tragic plane crash in Finch Hatton on Saturday, October 28.

Walkerston husband and wife Alwyn and Jenny Rogash were returning from visiting family in Townsville in the early morning when their SOCATA Trinidad plane crashed into the Pioneer Valley mountainside.

Mackay Police District Office Inspector Glenn Cameron said investigators had trekked hours in the rainforest to reach the remote crash site to remove the remains of the 73-year-old and 75-year-old grandparents.

Walkerston grandparents Alwyn and Jenny Rogash died when their plane crashed into the mountainside in the Pioneer Valley west of Mackay on Saturday, October 28, 2023. Picture: Contributed

“Those officers were able to recover the human remains of those two people who tragically lost their lives,” Inspector Cameron said.

“And hopefully give some peace to the family when those loved ones have been returned to them.”

Inspector Glenn Cameron at Mackay Police District Office. Photo: Zoe Devenport

Inspector Cameron said investigators had called the Finch Hatton crash “one of the most difficult sites to access in their time” in crash identification, taking two to three hours to reach it.

“To access the site, it was in a remote rainforest area of Eungella National Park,” he said.

The RACQ CQ Rescue chopper is hovering over a section of mountainous area between Finch Hatton and Eungella. Picture: flightrader24

“So that in itself was a challenge in relation to the officers having to reach the site on foot.

“The equipment that they use to conduct their job is quite extensive and weighs a lot of weight, so that’s where those officers from QRAT, which is a volunteer organisation, assisted with logistical support.”

Smoke rising from the thick tree coverage of a mountain range north of Okuloo and Netherdale where it is understood a plane crashed on Saturday, October 28, 2023. Picture: RACQ CQ Rescue

Inspector Cameron thanked Queensland Remote Area Tracking (QRAT) for their help to investigators.

Alwyn Rogash was an experienced pilot and the pair were expected to reach Palmyra Airstrip around 8.15am.

While it was “too early in the investigation” to determine the cause of the crash, Inspector Cameron said Mackay Forensic Crash Unit officers were working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to produce a report for the coroner.

“It’s tragic when anyone loses their life in an incident like this, so our thoughts are with the family and the loss of their loved ones,” he said.