A female instructor and male aviation student who went down in a light plane crash one kilometer from Port Macquarie Airport on Friday night are recovering in hospital.
The two 25-year-olds were found by emergency crews after a distress beacon was activated about 8.30pm.
The aircraft reportedly transmitted a mayday call shortly after leaving Port Macquarie Airport, but contact was unable to be made with the plane, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The two 25-year-olds were found by emergency crews after a distress beacon was activated about 8.30pm
A man is in a critical condition and a female is stable after a light plane they were travelling in lost power and crashed in dense bushland near Port Macquarie Airport
The aircraft was discovered an hour and 47 minutes after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority registered the distress call.
It was found in dense bushland near Lincoln Park Road, where both the male and female had sustained multiple injuries.
The crash was spotted by a passer-by, according to Australian International Aviation College chief pilot Kevin McMurtrie, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Mr McMurtrie revealed in a statement it was power loss that caused the crash, but the reason for the loss was unknown.
The aircraft transmitted a mayday call shortly after leaving Port Macquarie Airport, but contact was unable to be made with the plane
‘Our company is co-operating with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in investigating the accident,’ he said.
The male was winched onto a Westpac rescue helicopter and taken to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a critical condition.
He suffered head, chest, arm and leg injuries, while the pilot received fractures to her upper arm, pelvis and shoulder.
There were discovered an hour and 47 minutes after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority registered the distress call
The light plane, believed to be a Diamond 40 (stock pictured), went down south of Port Macquarie Airport
She was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital and was moved to Liverpool Hospital Friday afternoon where she continued to be treated for non life threatening injuries.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority’s Peter Gibson told Port Macquarie News that the plane was believed to be a Diamond 40 light aircraft.
He also confirmed that it was from the Australian International Aviation College, which trains predominantly Chinese students.
The male was winched onto a Westpac rescue helicopter and taken to John Hunter Hospital where he remains in a critical condition (emergency crews pictured assisting the male)
Crews from NSW Police and SES, along with Ambulance and Fire and Rescue were involved in the search and extraction.
Investigations were undertaken by two Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators on Saturday.
A spokesman from the ATSB said investigators were not expected to report on the underlying cause of the crash for several months.
The pair were pulled from the wreckage around midnight with the man airlifted to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital (pictured) in critical condition
Investigations were undertaken by two Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators on Saturday