Messages reveal final moments of fatal Lockhart River flight
A social media post from a passenger on board a charter plane that crashed on a remote far north Queensland beach this year noted that the nearby runway had not been visible because of heavy rain.
The pilot, three government workers and a contractor were on board the twin-engine Cessna that went down on a beach east of Lockhart River, about 750 kilometres north of Cairns, on March 11.
One of the images recorded by passengers on the plane during its two failed landing attempts.Credit:Australian Transport Safety Bureau
The plane had been travelling at "relatively high speed" when it hit the ground about six kilometres shy of the aerodrome on its second attempt to land, a preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau found.
Though no warnings were in place for the flight, police believed weather may have been a factor. Intermittent rain from a tropical low moving across the cape was recorded by radar on the morning of the crash.
During a search of the wreckage, the bodies of pilot Stewart Wavill and four passengers Henry Roebig, Wayne Brischke, Wayne Ganter and Mark Rawlings were located. Weather would later hamper recovery efforts.
The four were all either employed or contracted by the Queensland government's building unit, QBuild, in Cairns and were travelling to the region to carry out repairs at Lockhart River State School.
Housing and Public Works Minister Mick de Brenni described the crash at the time as a "devastating event".
One person who was near the aerodrome described the morning as "unusual", with "a bit of mist coming from the rainforest" and about five to 10 minutes of heavy rain around the time the aircraft would have been in the area, the report said.
Investigations found that two of the passengers recorded and shared two images during the flight: one sent via text message from the Lockhart River area during the first approach at 9.03am and a second uploaded to social media 11 minutes later.
"The passenger advised that the first attempt at landing was unsuccessful and the runway was not visible due to heavy rain," the report said. "This was followed a couple of minutes later by a text to advise of another attempt."
This was echoed by the pilot over radio, with the ATSB finding this "sounded routine". No further communication was received.
The report found the plane had been upright and "close to wings level", with its nose angled down at about five degrees during the final moments of its descent along a three-degree flight path.
The first approach had been slightly higher than the gradient specified on its approach chart, with the second being similar but "generally displaced" about 365 metres lower.
Examination of the wreckage found no evidence of structural or mechanical defects, though this was limited by the "extensive damage". The landing gear was extended at the time of impact.
Further investigations are ongoing, with a final report to be released at their conclusion.
Mayor Wayne Butcher, who knew the Cairns-based men, said at the time the community was "saddened and shocked" by the crash, which "brought back memories" of another in the region 15 years ago.
That incident, one of the worst in Australian aviation history, saw 13 passengers and two pilots die when their Fairchild Metroliner crashed near the Lockhart River Aboriginal community on May 7, 2005.
A coronial inquest revealed the crash would have been averted if the doomed aircraft had been fitted with a vital warning system.