Barambah Organics: Ian and Hannah Campbell killed in Stockleigh plane crash
Barambah Organics founder Ian Campbell and his daughter, Hannah Campbell, were identified as the two people killed in a light-plane crash at Stockleigh, south of Brisbane. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland police are investigating the circumstances of the crash, which also started a grass fire.
Ian and Hannah Campbell killed in Stockleigh plane crash
The aircraft, a Beech A36 Bonanza, crashed into a paddock near Musch Road in Stockleigh, in Logan, after departing Archerfield Airport. Ian Campbell, 56, and Hannah Campbell, 23, were the only people on board and were found dead at the scene. Both were from Ascot in Brisbane, according to ABC News and The Brisbane Times.
The crash ignited a large grass fire near rural homes. Eight Queensland Fire Department crews attended, and the fire took about an hour to contain. No other people were reported injured, and police said there was no damage to other property. A tree stump continued to smoulder after the main fire had been brought under control, The Brisbane Times reported.
What happened before the crash
Reports agree that the plane left Archerfield shortly after 11am and came down less than 10 minutes later, or at about 11.10am. One early ABC News report gave the departure time as approximately 10.57am and the crash time as approximately 11.10am, while other reports described the departure more generally as shortly after 11am. The available reports therefore establish the sequence, but not one fully consistent minute-by-minute timeline.
A local resident told Seven News that the aircraft appeared to be flying low and “spluttering” before banking and descending. That account is a witness report, not a confirmed explanation for the crash. Police said on the day that they did not yet know what happened while the aircraft was in the air, The Brisbane Times reported.
Police appealed for anyone who saw the plane, heard it before the crash or had dashcam footage from the nearby roadway to come forward. The ATSB also asked for video footage through its witness-reporting page.
Investigation and the Campbell family’s businesses
The ATSB sent three transport safety investigators to the crash site. The investigators specialise in aircraft operations, maintenance and engineering, and began examining the site and wreckage. Aircraft components were due to be taken to the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra for further examination, according to ABC News.
The ATSB said its investigation would include gathering evidence and examining the wreckage, with witness interviews and the collection of relevant flight-tracking, pilot, aircraft-maintenance and weather information described as part of the planned investigation activities. A preliminary report was expected in about eight weeks, ABC News reported.
Ian Campbell founded the family-owned dairy company with his wife, Jane, and the Campbell family still part-owns it. The family had also established Mañana Pastoral in the Goondiwindi region, producing olive oil and grass-fed lamb and beef, according to ABC News. The detailed cause of the crash has not yet been established in the available reporting.