Three men lost their lives when two light planes collided midair and crashed into a heavily wooded area approximately 55 miles southwest of Sydney on Saturday.
Australian police, fire, and ambulance crews reached the two crash sites on foot, navigating through semirural bushland. One of the planes had caught fire upon impact.
Acting Superintendent Timothy Calman of the New South Wales Police confirmed that a Cessna 182, carrying two people, collided with an ultralight aircraft, which had taken off from a nearby airfield with a single occupant. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Witnesses reported seeing “debris coming from the sky” and attempted to provide assistance, but Acting Superintendent Calman stated that there was likely “not much that could’ve been done.” He noted that both crash sites, located about one kilometer apart, were “not survivable.”
NSW Ambulance Inspector Joseph Ibrahim, a member of the emergency response team, echoed the sentiment to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, saying, “unfortunately, there was nothing they could’ve done.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will be conducting an investigation to determine the cause of the tragic accident.
