Missing aircraft, NW Gympie
 

Just seen a request for assistance relayed from AMSA, apparently an aircraft went missing NW of Gympie between 9.30 and 11.20 yesterday morning. No details on type or POB

No Cookies | The Courier-Mail

Has a random picture of a Jabiru. Not saying that is the type.

I doubt that particular Jabiru has been anywhere near Gympie..:)

Why is that Stikman? That is an aussie built Jab, a J250 8 cylinder... Unless you know where this aircraft happens to live....

Probably because the rego on the aircraft pictured in the original article ('random Jabiru' before the article was updated today)was not a VH one.ABC have an update

Pilot on board light plane missing north-west of Gympie was experienced aviator, friend says - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

They've changed the pic from what it was earlier. It was a J170 when I looked...

Article has been updated with a lot more information.

A J250 as now stated (bigger chord than j230/430 wing) fitted with what must be one of less than a handful of 8 cylinder Jabiru engines.

From the Aeroclub Gympie page; "Sorry to inform our members that the missing aircraft has been found. not a good outcome."

Bugger! RIP

The ABC is reporting that the wreckage of the Jabiru was found this afternoon by a farmer. Near Woolooga NW of Gympie.

ABC News reports pilot deceased and evidence of high speed impact with terrain.

Very sad outcome for all concerned.

Kaz

Kind of makes one wonder what happened here. A bloke who is regarded as highly experienced aviator, who had only recently flown a circuit of the entire land mass of Oz, takes off and only makes it 21NM from home before he flies straight into a cumulus granitus cloud? Something is not right here.
Incorrect altimeter setting? Faulty instrumentation? Not as experienced as everyone tries to make out? Just plain forgot that there was cumulus granitus at that point in the trip?
I was under the impression that "highly experienced" was the defining skill set, that sorted out the blokes who can avoid cumulus granitus without fail, as compared to those who can't. Some crashes defy explanation.

Pilots body found by police after plane crash near Gympie

As much as people usually chime in and say don't speculate and I often disagree, your post clearly shows why one should consider not speculating - there are too many unknowns to us.

Hopefully the Dynon Skyview memory is recoverable as that will answer all queries very quickly or at least will for those investigating. We probably won't hear for years, if at all what happened unless someone leaks something.

As we all know, nobody has invented a new way to crash an aircraft since the early years of flight, so it's either been mechanical, physical, or weather related.

Saying the pilot was highly experienced is a perfectly valid statement. That being said he may not be a CPL, instrument rated or an airline captain for his day job, but he may be very a very experienced RAA pilot. He could have been legitimately VFR over the top and lost his engine, then lost control in cloud, there could have been a catastrophic airframe failure and of course an 8 cylinder Jab punching 130 knots cruise is somewhat unproven... but that doesn't make him less of a pilot.

It would surprise the hell of of me if what you are suggesting was true that an RAA pilot took off and knowingly flew through cloud and hit a mountain. I know the Dynon Skyview is good but it would be tough to pill to swallow to suggest that this is what took place :-(

True . . . it has always proven rash to jump prematurely and tentatively to conclusions. Especially to condemn the man for being foolhardy, when an autopsy, for instance, may distinguish fact from fiction.

Remember . . . "fools rush in where . . . ."

I flew out of YCAB to the west about an hour earlier, there was an OVC for miles. I can't definitively say that this was the case that far north, but I do recall looking around in all directions while enjoying the smooth ride at 10,000' thinking that the valleys and ranges down there were all flagged in and we should say a quick prayer to the Lycoming gods!

The media report suggests weather may have been a factor and one can only imagine the temptation to sneak out VFR underneath and end up like this.

:sad:

stop it . . . . . you will go blind

Possible cau,se
 

Does the photo of a detached wing separate from other debris, give a hint as to which causal factors are more or less likely?

Does SAR helicopter crew and police reports of a "high (speed) impact crash with (resultant) wreckage spread over a wide area" (and that impact point, on steeply-rising terrain), indicate anything like a mid-air breakup? It doesn't to me.
We do know that that Jabs have had engine problems, but I don't recall that Jabs have a habit of losing wings during regular flight. They are a structurally sound aircraft.
There are two videos in the following newspaper link - one of the reporter with the crash site in the background, another lower down the page, taken from an SAR chopper.

Gympie Times - missing light plane