More Sad News with the Loss of Murphy Moose VH-MFM as well as GBR Helicopters Bell 206 VH-CLR

More bad news with the crash of another fairly well-known aircraft to Central Queensland in the form of Gold Coast-based Amateur-built Murphy Moose VH-MFM.  VH-MFM was a very welcome visitor to the Old Station Fly-In at Raglan in 2013.

Media reports that the badly-injured pilot was lucky to escape with his life after the plane crashed in bushland near the Southport Airstrip at Coombabah on the Gold Coast on Sunday 12 October.  VH-MFM had only just taken off when the engine off the Murphy Moose aircraft suddenly cut out.

Robyn Wuth / http://twitter.com/wuthy/

As the plane began descending, witnesses said the pilot attempted to find a patch of open land to make an emergency landing but went down in heavy scrub.

Meanwhile, during my recent holiday in Far North Queensland, I captured several images of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Helicopters Bell 206 (III) Jetranger helicopter VH-CLR.

I read with some surprise and disappointment that on Tuesday 7 October, VH-CLR was involved in a nasty collision with terrain South East of Cooktown Airport.

http://www.abc.net.au/

One person was flown to hospital after VH-CLR - which was carrying six people on board - came down on a large rock on Mount Cook, near Cooktown, about midday on Tuesday.  The chopper was reportedly caught in a wind gust.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has commenced an investigation into the crash.