Revealed: Pilot’s frantic final words before he and his wife plunged into the ocean in tragic plane crash
- Brisbane couple Tim and Julie Hudson had hired a plane for a scenic day trip
- But it plunged into the ocean, with the wreckage found 36m below the surface
- They have not been seen since and are presumed to have died in the horror crash
- In a final distress call, Mr Hudson – an experienced pilot – shouted ‘mayday’
A Brisbane couple presumed dead after their hired plane plunged into the sea last week have been identified as Tim and Julie Hudson.
Mr Hudson, 70, an experienced pilot, made a frantic final call for help as their plane rocketed into the ocean.
‘Mayday, mayday, mayday, Whiskey November Romeo,’ he said to officials as the plane spiraled downwards.
The husband and wife, aged 70 and 52, took off from Caloundra on a scenic flight towards Moreton Island when the man made a mayday call and lost contact with flight controllers on January 22.
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Tim and Julie Hudson (pictured) are missing and presumed dead after their hired plane crashed into the ocean
He did not respond to repeated attempts from officials to make further contact with him.
Medical advice provided to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority suggested the couple, who lived in Brisbane’s southern bayside area, would not have survived a high speed crash.
A major search was launched for the couple, with authorities finding sheet metal from the body of the aircraft and a wheel scattered north of the island in the hours after the crash.
Aircraft wreckage was later found by police 36 metres below the surface this week, however the bodies of the couple have not been found.
The incident is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
On Wednesday, another light plane crashed into the ocean off the coast of Fraser Island in Queensland.
The aircraft fell into the water around 100 metres out to sea from the township of Happy Valley, but miraculously the passengers survived.
The couple took off from Caloundra on a scenic flight towards Moreton Island (pictured) when the man made a mayday call and lost contact with flight controllers on January 22
Veteran pilot Gerry Geltch was one of two men on board the plane when it plunged into the sea off Fraser Island in Queensland at about 1.30pm on Wednesday.
Paramedics swam 100 metres out to the wreckage of the plane which landed near the Happy Valley Ambulance base.
Mr Geltch said the pair kicked out the door to the plane to escape aircraft while it was still in the air.
‘With an exit out of the water, it’s very difficult to exit out of the aircraft. We just kicked the doors open as the aeroplane was going down,’ Mr Geltch said, told 7 News.
A spokesperson from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told Daily Mail Australia that a stress beacon was released from the aircraft prior to the plane hitting the water.
Witnesses on the scene reported two men seen swimming next to the plane in the water before making it to the shore after the crash.
Dramatic footage has shown the moment the men arrived on the beach, with both men wearing white pilots uniforms.
The plane occupants were assisted from the water by other swimmers, before meeting with paramedics on the beach.