Passenger killed, pilot injured in plane crash on Queensland beach

An elderly passenger has died and the pilot flown to hospital after a light plane crashed on a north Queensland beach on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Emergency services were notified about 8am on Friday of the crash at Ball Bay, about 50 kilometres north of Mackay.

The wreckage at Ball Bay.Credit: RACQ CQ Rescue

Police officers attended and there were two people in the plane. Paramedics assessed both patients at the scene. Firefighters also attended.

Police have confirmed the aircraft’s passenger, an 83-year-old man, died at the scene.

The pilot, a 65-year-old man, suffered head injuries.

He was airlifted to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition by the RACQ CQ Rescue Helicopter.

The pilot suffered head injuries and was treated at the scene.Credit: RACQ CQ Rescue

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified of the crash and will investigate, with assistance from the police service’s forensic crash unit.

In a separate incident, four people were killed on Sunday when a single-engine light plane crashed off Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.

The 67-year-old male pilot, businessman Roy Watterson, and 41-year-old Brisbane man Chris Mocanu and his two children – a 10-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son – were the victims.