Two dead in twin plane collision in Brisbane

                                      BREAKING NEWS 

A couple are dead, and a pilot has escaped without serious injury after a mid-air collision between two light planes at an airfield north of Brisbane.

The man and woman, both in their 60s, were killed when the plane they were travelling in collided with another aircraft at Caboolture airfield (YCAB) about 10.30am today.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, said the two planes – a Piper Pawnee and a Jabiru J430 – crashed while one was landing on one runway and the other was taking off from a crossing runway.

“Tragically, both occupants of the Jabiru were fatally injured. The Pawnee pilot was uninjured,” he said.

Queensland Ambulance Service’s senior operations supervisor, Matthew Davis, said a man and woman in their 60s were confirmed dead.

Davis described the scene as “incredibly confronting”.

“Any incident involving the loss of life, particularly under these circumstances [is] extremely, extremely difficult and hard, obviously, for the first responders and most importantly for the family.”

Police confirmed the planes were flying low when the crash occurred at the eastern end of the airfield.

“I’m not able to speculate on exactly where they were positioned when they collided, but I believe that it was in the process of landing and/or taking off,” Superintendent Paul Ready said. “It’s devastating that we’ve had a loss of life.”

Ready said the aerodrome would be closed while police investigated. He urged any witnesses to contact authorities. “There will be people who may have seen some of the aircraft and their movements prior to the collision,” he said.

Investigators from the ATSB arrived at the site on to begin piecing together what happened. The investigation is expected to take at least six weeks before the release of a preliminary report.

Caboolture Airfield is an aerodrome catering to general aviation and ultralight aircraft located in Caboolture, Queensland, approximately 55 km's north Brisbane. The airfield has two grass runways, both of which operate with a displaced threshold to allow aircraft to sufficiently clear the Bruce Highway and local roads. The primary strip is 11/29, which has an available landing distance measuring 1,210 m (3,970 ft).  There is no control tower at the airport and pilots are required to co-ordinate aircraft movements using a Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF). 
The airfield is maintained and operated by the Caboolture Aero Club Incorporated.

Aircraft Information No 1:

Operator: Private Owner

Aircraft: Jabaru J430

Registration: VH-EDJ

Serial Number: 827

Engines: Piston Gen 4 3300

First Flew: February 2019

Age: 4 .5 Years

Aircraft Information No 2:

Operator: Caboolture Gliding Club Inc
Aircraft: Piper PA-25-235 Pawnee C

Registration: VH-SPA

Serial Number: 25-5008

Engines: Textron Lycoming Piston 0-540

First Flew: August 1974

Age: 49.11 Years

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE IMMEDIATE FAMILY, FRIENDS AND EVERYONE AT THE CABOOLTURE AIRFIELD.