THEY NEVER CAME HOME — IAN CAMPBELL AND DAUGHTER HANNAH’S FINAL FLIGHT ENDS IN H0RROR AS NEW DETAILS EMERGE: WIFE JANE LEFT FACING THE UNTHINKABLE AFTER LOSING HER HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER IN THE SAME CRASH
The founder of one of Australia’s best-known organic dairy brands and his daughter have been identified as the victims of a fatal light plane crash.
Fourth-generation Queensland dairy farmer Ian Campbell, 56, and his 23-year-old daughter Hannah died when the six-seater Beechcraft Bonanza they were travelling in crashed into a field at Stockleigh, in Logan, shortly after 11am on Monday.
The pair, both from Ascot in Brisbane, were found dead inside the wreckage after the aircraft came down on a rural property near Musch Rd, sparking a large grass fire.
Campbell founded Queensland dairy company Barambah Organics alongside his wife Jane more than two decades ago. The organic dairy brand has since grown to be stocked in more than 1400 stores nationwide.
A passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture, Campbell studied rural science at university and went on to become one of Australia’s leading agriculturalists, consulting as an animal nutritionist throughout Australia, the UK and South America.
More recently, the Campbell family established Mañana Pastoral, an agricultural enterprise spanning properties in Queensland and NSW, producing extra virgin olive oil, grass-fed lamb and beef.
Mañana, Spanish for “tomorrow”, reflected the family’s focus on a sustainable future and producing nutritious food.
According to the family’s business profile, Ian and Jane Campbell were passionate about “clean and green” agriculture, with Ian known for his hands-on approach, regularly working alongside staff and contractors.
The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza departed Archerfield Airport on a private flight shortly before 11am.
“The aircraft collided with terrain in open ground at Stockleigh at about 11.05am”, ATSB Acting Chief Commissioner Colin McNamara said.
Queensland Police Chief Superintendent Mel Adams said the scene was “quite confronting” for first responders.
Eight Queensland Fire Department crews were sent to the scene to extinguish a grass fire sparked by the crash.
The aircraft came down near homes, but no one on the ground was injured and no other property was damaged.
A neighbour was in his kitchen when the sound of the approaching aircraft caught his attention.
He said planes regularly passed over the area, but this one was flying unusually low and “was just not sounding very healthy at all”.
“I actually thought it was going to cut the trees at one stage,” he said.
He said he ran outside and watched the aircraft make what he described as its final turn before hearing a “big boom”.
“A huge plume of smoke followed by flame,” he said.
He called triple-0, requesting emergency crews be sent to the scene.
Investigators gather evidence at crash site
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an investigation into the crash, deploying three specialist transport safety investigators from its Brisbane office to the site.
The team began gathering evidence and examining the wreckage on Monday afternoon, returning to the crash site on Tuesday to examine the aircraft’s flight controls, engine and propeller.
Investigators have also been recovering equipment, including avionics and GPS units, for download and analysis at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra.
The bureau said several witnesses had already come forward, with a number describing the aircraft’s engine as sounding like it was “running rough or spluttering” before the crash, but the cause of the crash is yet to be determined.
On-site activities were expected to conclude late on Tuesday, with investigators to continue gathering evidence, including interviewing witnesses and involved parties, analysing recorded data and collecting aircraft maintenance and pilot records.
A preliminary report detailing the factual circumstances surrounding the crash is expected in about eight weeks.
A final report detailing the ATSB’s findings is expected to take a number of months, however the ATSB said it would immediately inform relevant stakeholders if a critical safety issue was identified at any point during the investigation.
The ATSB has urged anyone with video footage of the aircraft’s final flight to come forward via their witness form, while police have asked anyone who saw or heard the plane before the crash, or has relevant dashcam footage, to contact investigators.
SOURCE: https://7news.com.au/news/barambah-organics-founder-ian-campbell-and-daughter-hannah-identified-as-victims-of-fatal-logan-plane-crash-c-22838781
