Mum-to-be and husband killed in Qld plane crash

The bodies of a son of a police officer and his pregnant wife could take days to be recovered after officers discovered the remote crash site.

Rescue teams have entered their second day of searching for a light plane that went missing in Queensland. Picture: RACQ CQ Rescue

Authorities have confirmed the worst after a two-day search to find a missing light plane in Queensland.

At about 10.15am on Monday, the crash site of a missing Cherokee plane was found in the Clarke Ranges west of Proserpine by a QG Air Rescue helicopter based in Townsville.

The plane has been confirmed as the one carrying two people – a man and a woman – who went missing on Sunday.

The couple on-board the aircraft are believed to be Rhiley Kuhrt, the son of a police officer, and his pregnant wife Maree.

Maree and Rhiley Kuhrt are believed to have been on-board the aircraft. Picture: Supplied

Queensland Police said formal identification procedures were still under way, but the two people on-board who died were a married couple according to Inspector Andrew Godbold.

“It‘s just tragic for the family to go through this and especially a police family as well,” he told reporters.

The pairs’ bodies could take at least two to three days to be retrieved, according to Inspector Godbold, as the crash site is located in “rugged mountainous terrain” that officers are struggling to reach on foot.

“It is very difficult (to access), the only way in is by helicopter at this stage and we’re trying to work out a route so we can get some vehicles in there,” he said.

A team from the Disaster Victim Identification Unit in Brisbane are being sent to assist with the retrieval and identification.

The Cherokee plane left Natal Downs Station, west of Proserpine in Queensland, on Sunday and was due to land at Lakeside Airpark at 5pm.

An Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesperson said the aircraft was reported overdue by air traffic control at 6.30pm.

Search has resumed this morning for a Cherokee plane with two on board reported missing near Bloomsbury last night. pic.twitter.com/Ps7uadMvH7

— RACQ CQ Rescue (@cq_rescue) April 2, 2023

Inspector Godbold said the couple had got into difficulty with a large storm in the area.

“They would have been faced with a lot of showers, a lot of thunder and probably visibility down to next to nothing,” he said.

The pair did not follow their intended route from the Mount Hector range to the coastline, instead turning back toward the ranges where they crashed.

“It’s my understanding that he’s flown that route before and he’s got a number of flying hours up,” Inspetor Godbold said.

“It was his own plane, so I would say he’s fairly experienced.”

By 9.30pm on Sunday, search efforts had failed to find the plane.

“RACQ CQ Rescue has completed an aerial search around Lakeside Airpark and surrounding high ground but nothing found. Now returning to base,” rescue teams posted on social media.

They resumed the search on Monday in an area near Lakeside Airpark.

The flight was due to land at Lakeside Airpark at 5pm. Picture: FlightAware