The Charters Towers Police are assisting AusSAR in the search for a missing glider and its pilot in the Charters Towers area

The pilot - a 79-year-old male - had taken--off at around 1500hrs yesterday for a test flight and had failed to return

The QLD Police have reported that they received a mayday call late yesterday from a pilot of a light aircraft advising that his machine had flipped-over and after alerting the Longreach Airport police they confirmed that the accident had occurred about 18 kms away

The as yet unidentified light aircraft appears to have run out of fuel approaching Longreach forcing it to land on a dirt track where the nose-wheel dug into the ground and it overturned

The pilot escaped unharmed

A tourist helicopter operated by the Curry-Kenny owned Slingair Heliwork in West OZ has crashed on level ground and was engulfed in flames around 1300hrs yesterday 12km from the Bellburn airstrip in the Purnululu National Park

3 young female tourists aged between 19 and 20 and the 40-year-old male pilot lost their lives in the scenic flight accident that also caused a large bush fire within the park

Bellburn airstrip is a bush camp in the park about 55km by air from the township of Warnum or Turkey Creek

News Desk Comment

The Slingair Heliwork of around 40 aircraft was purchased recently by the QLD based Grant Kenny and Lisa Curry Aviation Group - mouse over text and click for report

A search has commenced this morning for a Cessna C-206 reported missing on a flight from Bankstown to Archerfield late yesterday

"A worried relative contacted Australian Search and Rescue (AusSAR) about 6.30pm last night when the Cessna 206 did not arrive"

The single-engine 6-seater with a pilot and two passengers on board had departed Bankstown and was due to land at Archerfield around lunchtime - the last reported location was at Scone in NSW where the aircraft had stopped to refuel around mid-morning

A search helicopter found the wreckage at Hanging Rock about 55 kms north-east of Scone at about noon today - it had been completely destroyed on impact after crashing into a peak in the Great Dividing Range about 1500 metres above sea level

The 39-year-old Hempel FS trained VFR pilot along with his 38-year-old partner and 7-year-old son were confirmed deceased by a doctor who was lowered by helicopter to the accident site - the pilot had only recently purchased the 43-year-old Cessna