Ten injured after light plane overshoots runway, flips and crashes on Lizard Island

The plane flipped and crashed on an island located on the Great Barrier Reef, with authorities confirming 10 people on board the aircraft were injured.

Ten people, including a teenage girl, have been injured after a plane flipped and crashed on a luxury island near the Great Barrier Reef.

Wild pictures from the scene at Lizard Island, a small granite island about 1624km northwest of Brisbane, have captured the extend of the crash after the plane overshot the runway around 7.30am on Monday.

Debris litters the field near the downed plane, which flipped and landed on its side after the crash.

The plane crashed while taking off from the runway on Lizard Island. Picture: Supplied / Channel 7

This is the wreckage of the light plane that overshot the runway on Lizard Island this morning. 10 people, including an infant, are reported to have been onboard - some of them have been choppered to Cairns Hospital with injuries @9NewsQueenslandpic.twitter.com/BYE1uuW2kv

— Anna Rawlings (@AnnaRawlings_) January 8, 2024

Amazingly, most of the group escaped with only minor injuries.

One of them was a 14-year-old girl.

In a statement, Queensland Health confirmed all 10 passengers were transported to Cairns Hospital where they were assessed by emergency department staff.

“As of 2:30pm today, all 10 patients are in a stable condition,” a spokesperson said.

Queensland Ambulance Service Acting Assistant Commissioner Brina Keating said one person suffered an arm injury while another suffered a head injury and lacerations.

She said the aircraft was taking off at the time the incident occurred.

Nine adults and a child were on board the plane when it crashed on the island. Picture: Supplied / Google Maps

“I think the pilot’s clearly done an incredible job,” Commissioner Keating said

“I understand he’s a local... to walk away from something like this is incredible.”

Commissioner Keating said two rescue helicopters and a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane were deployed to the scene within the hour of the crash.

She said there were initial reports the plane may have clipped some trees while taking off, before ending up on its side.

Lizard Island’s runway is less than a kilometre long.