AAP
Island resort air crash
By Chris Herde
September 26, 2002
SIX people died when a light aircraft crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off from Queensland's Hamilton Island resort.
Investigators said the six stood no chance as the single-engined Piper Cherokee 6-300, fully laden with fuel, smashed into a quarry near the end of the island's Great Barrier Reef Airport around 5.30pm (AEST).
The plane was carrying five passengers, four of whom were believed to be from the one family, and a pilot.
The plane was on a charter flight and was operated by Hamilton Island Aviation.
An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) spokesman confirmed all on board had died in the crash.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said the aircraft lost control shortly after take-off.
"Because it was full of fuel it has burst into flames and everyone has perished on board," Mr Gibson told Sky News.
"There was no chance of any survivors."
Mr Gibson said weather conditions were good.
"So at this stage it's a mystery as to what went wrong," he said.
Mr Gibson said it was unclear early tonight where the aircraft was headed, but the company involved operated charter flights between Hamilton, the mainland and other islands in the Whitsunday group.
Air crash investigators would examine the wreckage at first light tomorrow and interview witnesses.
"We'll be putting all that information together to get a very good picture of exactly what went wrong," Mr Gibson said.
"It's too early to speculate at this stage as to what causes may have been in place."
Mr Gibson said the runway at Hamilton was about 1700m long and was capable of taking large jets.
"So there's nothing there that's difficult for a small six-seater light aircraft," he said.
Mr Gibson said he was not aware of any previous accidents at Hamilton.
The crash is another blow to the island resort which has been financially hit by September 11 and the Ansett collapse a year ago.
Hamilton Island Ltd recently started looking to sell off assets to maintain its share price after recording a 51.1 per cent fall in net profit.
Queensland Tourism Industry Corporation chief executive Daniel Gschwind described the accident as a terrible tragedy.
"When aviation accidents occur it's terrible for all concerned," he said.
"I don't know the circumstances but the air services on the island have been operating for some time and I understand they had an unblemished safety record."
AAP