Police say they are continuing their search and rescue efforts. Photo: Google Maps.
UPDATE, 20 September – A body has been found as part of the search for a crashed plane north of Batemans Bay.
Emergency services had been called to Budawang National Park on Thursday (18 September) after an aircraft Emergency Location Transmitter was activated.
Police have been told the small recreational aircraft left Bankstown earlier in the day with a single person on board and was returning to the airport.
A multi-agency search was launched and the crash site was located from the air at about 5:30 pm.
Emergency services were unable to access the crash site by vehicle or on foot due to the terrain and weather conditions.
After the rescue attempts resumed on Friday (19 September), a body was found at the site at about 2 pm.
While it is yet to be formally identified, it’s believed to be a 60-year-old man.
19 September – Police say it’s “unlikely” a pilot survived a plane crash in southern NSW as an investigation into the cause of the crash gets underway.
A plane left Bankstown on Thursday (18 September), with the alarm raised at about 4:30 pm after reports the plane’s emergency location transmitter had activated.
Police started a multiagency search, with assistance from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, NSW Toll Ambulance Helicopter, Fire and Rescue NSW, Rural Fire Service and NSW Ambulance.
The crash site in Budawang National Park (about 25 kilometres north of Batemans Bay) was located from the air at about 5:30 pm, before the search was suspended for the evening.
It resumed the next morning (19 September).
On Friday afternoon, Detective Chief Inspector David Cockram from the South Coast Police District said the crash site was in “pretty full-on terrain” within Budawang National Park.
“The circumstances of that aircraft colliding or crashing into the land [are] unknown at this stage,” he said.
“There’s significant resources being deployed there this morning to try and get access to that aircraft and then determine the pilot’s condition.”
He also said it was “unlikely” the pilot survived the incident, based on discussions with air safety authorities.
Efforts to reach the crash site are expected to continue into Friday afternoon.
“I think [the chances of that site being accessed this afternoon are] pretty good,” he said.
“I think our people will be in there. We’ll be able to do an assessment as [to] what’s happened. … I’m confident we’ll be in there to establish the condition of the pilot, at least.”
He said that while there was fog in the area on Thursday afternoon, he couldn’t comment on whether that was a factor in the crash.
Detective Chief Inspector Cockram also said authorities believed the plane was carrying a single occupant, who had rented the plane.
“That’s part of our inquiries … [We are working to] try and locate that fellow and determine if there were any other passengers.”
He also couldn’t confirm reports about the man’s age or level of flying experience.
Also on Friday, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) announced it had launched a transport safety investigation into the incident, which it described as a collision with terrain accident.
It said the plane was a Cirrus SR20.
A team of transport safety investigators from Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane will be involved, specialising in aircraft operations, engineering and maintenance.
“Planned activities include site and wreckage examination, including mapping of the site with a drone, and recovery of any aircraft components for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra,” the Bureau said in a statement.
“Investigators are also collecting relevant recorded information including ADS-B flight tracking data, weather information, and pilot and aircraft maintenance records.”
A preliminary report is expected in about two months, before a final report is released at a future date.
Anyone with information about this incident has been asked to contact Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or by visiting Crime Stoppers.
Information is managed on a confidential basis.
