Two men found dead after small plane crash west of Coffs Harbour
Two men have today been found dead in the wreckage of a plane which went down west of Coffs Harbour. The men, who live in the Gold Coast region and are believed to be related, crashed in rugged terrain last night.
NSW
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Two men have been killed after their light aircraft crashed in rugged terrain in northern NSW.
Rescue crews this morning located the scattered wreckage of the propeller-driven Mooney M20 four-seater plane, which crashed 27km west of Coffs Harbour some time after 6.30am on Friday.
Numerous parts of the plane, with registration VH-DJU, have been found over about 100m in the Dorrigo National Park.
NSW Police Chief Inspector Brendan Gorman said they recovered the bodies of two men, aged about 25 and 59, inside the aircraft.
He said police are still trying to confirm if they are father and son.
“We believe that both men are from the Gold Coast and we believe that they are related, however that is not yet confirmed,” he said.
“The plane was located on a ridge-line just above the Gleniffer area where it struck the side of the mountain.”
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NSW Police confirmed family members of the deceased have been contacted.
“This operation was made difficult by what we needed to do to get to the location,” Insp Gorman said.
“There are no witnesses in regards to the local area.”
About 20 police, SES and National Parks and Wildlife have been involved in the operation.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the plane departed Murwillumbah at 6.30am Friday and was expected to arrive at Taree by 8am the same day.
“AMSA was contacted by associates of the pilot who raised concerns when the aircraft did not arrive at its destination,” the AMSA statement said.
“About 6.30am Saturday the Westpac Rescue Helicopter (Westpac 4) located the crash site.”
The search area was based on the last contact with the aircraft’s transponder.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.