Three children and a man are believed to have been on board the small plane that smashed into a paddock north of Canberra yesterday. Investigators have spent the day examining the charred wreckage of the aircraft. Because of the severity of the crash, they say there's no chance anyone could have survived, and formal identification of the victims could take some time.
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00:00 An ordinary looking paddock north of Canberra is now the scene of horror and heartbreak.
00:07 Forensic teams spent today combing through the wreckage of this doomed plane, which is
00:11 believed to have been carrying a man and three children.
00:15 Investigators who have been on the scene for more than a day now have called the crash
00:19 catastrophic. The aircraft burst into flames after impact, starting a small grass fire.
00:24 There appears to have been no chance of anyone surviving.
00:28 These are indeed tragic circumstances, exacerbated by the news that children have been involved.
00:34 Air traffic control at Canberra airport had cleared the small plane for take off just
00:38 after half past two yesterday. Once it got airborne, it turned north towards its destination,
00:43 Armidale. But not long into the journey, it slowed down, gained height, then plummeted
00:49 to the ground, with air traffic control sounding the alarm.
00:52 An all passengers, be advised this flight has been dropped off radar and there may be
00:58 some delays at the moment.
01:00 The plane was a popular American made single engine aircraft. It was registered to a man
01:05 known to be an experienced pilot in Queensland. In a statement, the Redcliffe Aero Club, north
01:11 east of Brisbane, today expressed its deepest condolences to the family of the pilot and
01:16 passengers, adding the pilot was active in the social side of the club, with many hours
01:20 of flying experience.
01:22 With the scene of the crash close to Lake George and the Federal Highway, police think
01:25 there could be more witnesses and urging anyone who may have seen the aircraft or with footage
01:29 around the time of the incident to come forward.
01:32 This picturesque area is regularly frequented by photographers and now the lake is full,
01:37 it's a popular stop for motorists making their journey from Canberra to Sydney.
01:41 Yesterday we were contacted by a number of witnesses. If anyone has relevant information
01:46 pertaining to this accident, please go to our website.
01:49 The main focus for authorities now is working out what went wrong, an investigation that
01:55 is likely to take weeks.
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