A 72-year-old pilot has lost his life when the Jabiru ultralight he was flying crashed into a private paddock on a farm in Victoria's far west near the Renmark Mail Route Road north of the Sturt Highway at Cullulleraine after a suspected engine failure

An Ambulance spokesperson said the pilot was the only person on board the OZ designed and home-built ultralight

ROCKHAMPTON (YBRK)

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EMERGENCY ACFT EXCEPTED WITH PRIOR NOTICE.
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A Rex commuter flight departing Griffith on New Years Day for Sydney with 17 passengers and 3 crew on board was forced to return to Griffith after a problem occurred with the port engine shortly after take-off

The captain shut down and feathered the prop-jet engine and spent the next hour reducing the fuel load before landing - passengers saw the idle propeller just "swinging in the breeze"