Probe starts into air crash

Among 3 Aussies and Kiwi killed was Trans Air co-owner

By STEPHANIE ELIZAH

Villagers and curious onlookers, Australian air safety officials and CASA and Accident Investigation Commission investigators at the scene of the crash on Misima Island, Milne Bay, inspecting the remains of the Cessna  Citation yesterday. – Picture by SINEWATA ISHMAEL

AMONG those killed in the plane crash on Misima in Milne Bay was Les Wright, the co-owner of Trans Air, which ran the charter, The National reports.

Wright, 59, was from Queensland, Australia.

The others were identified as Chris Hart, 61, from Sydney, and Darren Moore, 44, from Leonora in Western Australia, who was a civil aviation flight operations inspector.

The name of the fourth victim, an employee of medivac company International SOS, a New Zealander, was not released.

The survivor, another New Zealander who is a permanent resident of Australia, arrived in Port Moresby yesterday afternoon on a chartered flight from Misima Island.

The unnamed 25-year-old co-pilot of the doomed Cessna Citation was immediately whisked onto another plane and flown to Australia for medical treatment for “heavy bruising”.

Trans Air (PNG), a charter and medivac operator, is linked to the now-defunct Australian airline Transair, which went into liquidation after a 2005 crash at Lockhart River in north Queensland, killing 15 people.

Investigations have begun into the crash, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon.

The bodies of the four are at the morgue at Misima Hospital and would be flown to Port Moresby today.

Around 4pm yesterday, a chartered Airlines PNG Twin Otter arrived in Port Moresby with the injured co-pilot, heavily sedated.

Local and international media were locked out of the Trans Air hangar at the airport by security guards.

Accident Investigation Commission (AIC) chief executive officer David Inau confirmed “that a Cessna Citation jet ran off the end of the runway on landing”.

Inau gave no further details, only stating that  “until all findings have been gathered and finalised, then a formal statement will be made”.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority and AIC investigators were accompanied by Australian officials to the crash site yesterday.

They would try and establish the cause

of the accident.

Australian leaders, including prime minister Julia Gillard and foreign affairs and trade minister Stephen Smith, yesterday expressed sorrow at the loss of their citizens’ lives.

“On behalf of the government, I offer my condolences to the families of the three Australians that will be grieving the loss of a loved one today,” Gillard told reporters in Australia yesterday.

“I also offer our condolences to the New Zealand family that has lost a loved one.

“And, I wish a speedy recovery and a return to good health to the New Zealand citizen, Australian resident who has been injured.”

Smith said the tragedy came just weeks after the first anniversary of the Kokoda plane crash in which nine Australians died.

“This will be a very sad reminder to nine Australian families,” Smith said.

“It follows on very closely from the first anniversary of the Kokoda air crash, so this will be painful not just for the families of the five involved but a painful reminder of the Kokoda air crash.”

Smith confirmed that the plane was chartered by Trans Air and one of those killed was employed by the company but he would not say whether it was its owner Wright.

However, an industry source told AAP: “Les Wright from Trans Air was on board and died.”

The foreign minister said he had spoken to the Australian acting high commissioner in PNG and was told “everything that Australian officials can do is being done both on the ground in Misima and Port Moresby”.

Smith said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau had offered assistance in any formal investigation into the cause of the crash.

“We regrettably have a lot of experience with plane crashes in PNG and we have in the past, and I expect on this occasion, will work closely and successfully with PNG officials,” he said.