A billionaire businessman named Tom Strachan, his son Noah, and a pilot named Garry Liehm were the three persons who perished in a light plane crash on Monday in the Somerset district, which is located west of Brisbane.
The prosperous agri-business tycoon, who was 48 years old, his son, who was 20 years old, and the Gold Coast pilot, who was 63 years old, were all murdered when the jet crashed into dense woodland close to Fernvale.
After the Cessna aircraft failed to return to Archerfield Airport at approximately 2:40 in the afternoon, the alarm was triggered.
According to the early information obtained by the police, the aircraft is believed to have left Dalby about 9 a.m. yesterday and was scheduled to land at Archerfield around 10 a.m. yesterday.
During the course of an airborne search conducted by the police on Monday afternoon, the wreckage was located in thick brush and all three occupants were subsequently confirmed dead at the spot.
Mr. Strachan was a significant corporate leader in the agricultural industry of Queensland. At the regenerative agri-enterprise Packhorse, he held the positions of Chief Investment Officer and Chief Storyteller.
Tim Samway, Chairman of Packhorse, stated that the company routinely traveled with charter pilot Garry Liehm, who was also killed in the disaster. Liehm was also a victim of the accident.
Mr. Samway stated that the Packhorse community is mourning all three of the deceased guys.
Inspector Mick Thiesfield of the Queensland Police Service stated that it was far too soon to tell what caused the collision.
“At this stage, our major priority is clearly with respect to the safe removal of passengers that are really aboard that aircraft and then guaranteeing the scene security,” he said. “With the assistance of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, we can get an exact picture of what transpired.”
“The aircraft is dispersed over a considerable distance, and it will take a considerable amount of time to reassemble the pieces, after which the ATSB will recreate the aircraft to ascertain what happened.”
According to Inspector Thiesfield, there was no record of any contact from the plane before it crashed that would have indicated the three were in any kind of distress.
ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell issued a statement in which he stated that the agency would be gathering evidence from the crash scene in addition to information regarding the weather, witness reports, and maintenance records.
“The ATSB expects publishing a preliminary report detailing factual information gathered during the initial phase of evidence collecting within six to eight weeks,” he said.
Investigators are requesting information from anyone who may have seen or heard a low-flying aircraft in the Fernvale or Lowood region after 9 a.m.
