Investigation underway after 63-year-old man killed in light plane crash near Darwin, woman rescued from crocodile waters

ABC NEWS (Australia)

An investigation is underway after a 63-year-old man was killed in a light plane crash south of Darwin. Emergency crews responded to the crash yesterday, rescuing a 29-year-old woman from crocodile-inhabited waters.

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00:00Around 10am yesterday morning, police first received reports that a light aircraft, now

00:08understood to be an ultralight plane, had crashed into an area of wetlands south of

00:13Darwin.

00:14A search and rescue operation was then mobilised involving police, ambulance crews, aeromedical

00:19teams and rangers, with the body of a 63-year-old man, believed to be the pilot, recovered from

00:25the wreckage, along with a 29-year-old woman, who police say was uninjured.

00:30She was airlifted from the wreckage and taken to Royal Darwin Hospital for assessment.

00:34The light plane went down into Fog Dam, which is an area of wetlands outside of Darwin.

00:40It's surrounded by heavy bushland and is a known crocodile habitat.

00:44According to St John Ambulance, the aircraft was submerged in the dam and during what they

00:49said was a difficult rescue effort, the aircraft first had to be reached by rangers via boat

00:55before the lone survivor could be lifted out of the wreckage via helicopter.

00:59The investigation is in its very early stages, with NT Police having declared the area a

01:03crime scene as they conduct their inquiries.

01:06Because the aircraft is understood to be an ultralight aircraft, the circumstances of

01:10the crash may be further investigated by the Authority for Recreational rather than Commercial

01:15Flights.

01:16Last year, 27 people died in 20 crashes of similar aircraft around Australia, with aviation

01:23experts just this month calling for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to take a more active

01:28role in those investigations.

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