R44 down near Cairns
 

Authorities return to helicopter crash site in far north Queensland after reports of passenger on board. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-1...th-qld/8038462

I'm saddened to hear that a passenger might have been lost in that most unfortunate accident.
While obviously we'll have to await details, I can't help wondering what the R44 was doing over McLeod's Crossing while on a flight from Cardwell to Weipa.

Lucky the 406 beacon went off... history shows in many helicopter prangs the beacon doesn't go off.

Perhaps the fortunately surviving pilot was able to activate the device?

Seems strange they went back to check about a passenger after they put the pilot on a stretcher and winched him out ?

This also a concern "Police said the crash resulted in an "intense" fire in bushland."

Quite so, Band a Lot.
Pardon my cynicism, but I do suspect this is yet another example of breathless reporting by an unsupervised junior media hack.
The ABC, once again, are not doing much for their credibility by letting that kind of stuff go out.
We are paying their wages - so, please...

Sadly the passenger has been found dead. No more details yet.

Seems they were both sub-contractors for the NPWS, checking on different locations on their way up.
Helicopter crash: Passenger found dead in wreckage near Mt Carbine in far north Queensland - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Surely if they departed the Cairns Control Zone they would have needed to lodge a flight plan, and obtained an airways clearance, and on that flight plan the number of persons on board?

From the articles it said they were going Cardwell - Coen; they'd probably go up inland via Atherton/Mareeba or thereabouts and bypass the Cairns zone to the west I imagine.

Some kind of effective SARWATCH is a must in my book though, be it a simple flight note or whatever; you'd hope everyone would think that way but it seems not in this case, sadly.