Pilot’s ‘grief-stricken’ sister shares heartbreaking photo

The sister of a pilot of who died in a plane crash, along with his pregnant wife, has broken her silence over the heartbreaking tragedy.

The sister of a pilot of who died in a plane crash – along with his pregnant wife – has broken her silence over the heartbreaking tragedy.

Rhiley Kuhrt, 22, the son of a Mackay district police senior sergeant, and his wife Maree, 24, were killed when their light aircraft crashed in the Clarke Range on Sunday.

The pair took off in a white and green Piper Cherokee plane from cattle station Natal Downs, in North Queensland at about 2pm on Sunday and were due to arrive at Lakeside Airpark in Bloomsbury, around 80km north of Mackay, at 5pm.

Sadly, they didn’t make it.

After a desperate two-day search, wreckage of the aircraft was found west of Prosperine on Monday morning.

Rhiley Kuhrt, 22, and his pregnant wife Maree, 24, died in the light plane crash. Picture: Facebook

Ms Kuhrt was seven months pregnant; the couple were expecting a little girl in June.

Beccarah Markham-Gaudion, the sister of Mr Kuhrt, has now spoken, saying the families are “absolutely heartbroken and utterly grief-stricken”.

“Three incredible lives were cut way too short,” she wrote on a GoFundMe to help support the families with funeral costs.

She also revealed the couple were going to name their daughter Phoebe, while also sharing an ultrasound picture of the baby.

“On Sunday, April 2, my brother Rhiley, his wife Maree, and their beautiful unborn baby girl Phoebe tragically lost their lives during a routine flight to see family,” she wrote.

“While we grieve and try [to] seek comfort in each other, we ask for your help and support in covering costs for Rhiley, Maree, and angel baby Phoebe’s funerals.

Rhiley’s sister shared this photo of the couple. Maree was due to give birth in June to a baby girl they were planning to name Phoebe. Picture: GoFundMe

“We would like to thank you all for your condolences, sympathies, and ongoing support during this dark time in our lives. We appreciate it more than you know.”

So far just over $18,800 has been raised with an old friend of Maree’s, Robert Murphy, donating $5000.

“I went to school with Maree, hearing this broke my heart. May you three beautiful souls rest peacefully in God’s grace,” he wrote.

Ms Markham-Gaudion described the couple as “forever our guardian angels” in a Facebook post alongside a photo of the pair.

“I’m so sorry Beccarah. Absolutely devastating news. Thinking of you and your family at this hard time,” one person wrote.

The couple died during a ‘routine flight’. Picture: Instagram

“Our love and hugs, our hearts break for you all. So sorry for your family’s loss,” wrote another.

According to RACQ, concerned family members raised the alarm after the aircraft failed to arrive at the airfield at 5pm on Sunday.

Not long after, a desperate search for the missing couple was launched by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.

Two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft from CQ Rescue took flight just before 8.30pm and completed an aerial search around the airpark but failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft.

The rescue flight searching for the missing plane. Picture: Flightaware

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) duty forecaster Ricus Lombard said search teams had to contend with poor and wet conditions.

The following day, a QG Rescue helicopter found the crash site in the Clarke Range at about 10.15am.

Authorities said the plane faced harsh weather conditions ahead of the crash including rain, thunder and low visibility.

“A male and female have been located deceased following a light plane crash in Clarke Ranges,” a Queensland Police statement said on Monday.

Just one day before the tragedy, Ms Kuhrt shared a photo to her Instagram showing off her baby bump.

The search to find the missing plane took almost two days. Picture: Facebook/RACQ CQ Rescue

“27 weeks now! Getting closer and closer to meeting baby girl,” she captioned the photo.

The couple had recently married and honeymooned in the Whitsundays.

Ms Kuhrt had a great passion for horses, while Mr Kuhrt, who was head stockman and pilot at Nerrigundah Station, had a passion for flying.

Maree Kuhrt loved horses. Picture: Instagram

Rhiley was head stockman and pilot at Nerrigundah Station. Picture: Facebook

The 22-year-old would regularly share footage of his experiences online.

In a post shared to Facebook on March 30, he wrote: “Wick afternoon run over the sorghum harvest and a bit of fun.”

Another clip showed him in a light aircraft with his several dogs in the back as he laughed and smiled into the camera.

Mr Kuhrt bought the white and green Piper Cherokee just six months before the accident.

He also revealed his plans to buy another aircraft to “match” his Piper Cherokee on Facebook last November.

Friends of the couple have continued to express their shock and heartache over the tragedy.

“Taken too soon. You will be missed. Thinking of your families at this time,” one person wrote on Facebook.

A work friend of Ms Kuhrt said: “You were honestly a beautiful couple and deserved nothing but happiness.

“But that got taken away from you all of a sudden.

“You were going to be parents in a short amount of time. I will cherish the memories and moments we had working together last year. Love you both to the moon and back.”