Investigators recover wreckage of light plane in Peachester which killed Rory Blanning and Adam Heath

Investigators have retrieved from thick scrub the wreckage of a plane crash which claimed the lives of two men as they try to figure out what went wrong.

Rory Blanning, 30, and Adam Heath, 46, died when their light plane crashed in Peachester on June 23.

Airline safety authorities are working to determine how two men’s flight in a light plane came to such a tragic end in dense bushland near Peachester on the Sunshine Coast.

A search started on Wednesday afternoon when Rory Blanning, 30, and Adam Heath, 46, failed to return to a Sunshine Coast Airport, in Marcoola, during a private flight in a Cessna-150 Aerobat.

The two-seater light plane was discovered on a private property off Commissioners Flat Road at Peachester about 8.50pm on Wednesday.

Police walk to the scene of a plane crash near Commissioners Flat Road at Peachester that killed two men.

Sadly, the bodies of the two men were discovered by police and removed from the wreckage of the single engine aircraft.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau workers were then tasked to take over investigations into the cause of the crash.

A resident who lives on the property where the plane crashed, and who asked not to be named, said the plane had been completely removed from the crash site before dusk on Friday, June 25.

“It didn’t seem to be too much of a process, they had a fair sized crew in there and it wasn’t an overly long process,” she said.

Pilot Rory Blanning died in a Sunshine Coast plane crash.

The woman said crews had worked quickly because of concern about impending wet weather.

She said access to the crash site was cut off by a creek line and crews were concerned parts of the plane could “float away” if heavy rain fell.

An bureau spokesman told The Sunshine Coast Daily on June 24 that investigators would be examining the wreckage and site surrounds on Thursday and Friday.

“On site, investigators will examine the aircraft wreckage and site surrounds, and seek to recover any relevant components for detailed examination,” he said.

Adam Heath died in a Sunshine Coast plane crash. Picture: Facebook

“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will also analyse available recorded data, review pilot and maintenance records and interview witnesses and involved parties.”

The site has now been released back to landowner.

Records show the plane was 45 years old and had been owned by the Sunshine Coast Aero Club only since March 2021.

The two men killed have been remembered fondly for their passion for aviation by family and friends.