One of the victims killed when a plane crashed while fighting bushfires in remote Queensland appears to be a mechanical engineer from the US.
Three people have been killed after a light aircraft assisting firefighters battling intense bushfires crashed in ‘difficult terrain’ in McKinlay at 2.30pm on Saturday.
William ‘Will’ Jennings, 22, was one of three on board the plane with his devastated parents who revealed the last conversation they had with their only son.
Will’s father Joseph said he spoke to his son about his plans for the day, as was common in their conversations.
William ‘Will’ Jennings McKinlay (pictured), 22, was one of three on board a light aircraft who all died when it crashed at McKinlay, near the Eloise Copper Mine south of Cloncurry, in north-west Queensland, on Saturday.
“We were just paying off all his student loans… we had a conversation about that,” he told the Courier mail.
“Unfortunately that was my last conversation with him, but our conversations always ended with ‘I love you’ no matter what we talked about.”
‘I was actually on Zoom, I’ve had a group of friends for 50 years and every Friday we get together to talk.
‘I was with them and said, ‘Hey Will is in Australia, he’s leaving now’. He had just texted me… that was 8:47 and then he went offline at 9:03 (NY time).”
Mr Jennings told Channel Nine’s Today on Monday that Will had died doing what he loved.
‘Will did what he always did: help people. It was no surprise when he got the call to go to Australia and try to help. “He jumped at the opportunity and was so excited to do it,” he said.
The family is desperate for answers after the tragedy.
“We need to know (what went wrong),” Mr Jennings said.
“We haven’t really heard much… whatever is left, we really want a proper burial for him.”
Will’s father said his son had died doing what he loved and ‘it was no surprise when he got the call to go to Australia and try to help’
Will’s family is desperate for answers after the horrific incident and wants him a proper burial
Will’s mother Denise said: ‘He was our only son… he meant the world to us… he was so full of joy, so full of life.
“He loved hiking and the outdoors, he loved photography… he was so intelligent, but he was so down to earth.”
Mr. Jennings graduated in May from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
a GoFundMe founded by Will’s parents read: ‘His heart was always focused on making a positive impact on the world, no matter how big or small.
“We know his legacy will continue to inspire others to make an impact.”
The fundraiser has raised more than $53,800 to date.
Police said a rescue helicopter crew spotted the plane’s wreckage and officers arrived on the scene around 5pm on Saturday, after the crash was reported by workers at a nearby mine.
“They saw a plane crash and then saw a plume of smoke,” Chief Inspector Tom Armitt said on Sunday.
“The plane was completely destroyed by fire.”
The plane left Toowoomba shortly before 11am and disappeared from radar within an hour of its expected arrival at Mount Isa at 3pm, according to flight tracking radar data.
The aircraft was contracted by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) to provide fire mapping support to the state’s ongoing bushfire crisis.
Major forest fires have raged in the region in recent weeks.
Police said a rescue helicopter crew spotted the plane’s wreckage and officers arrived on the scene Saturday around 5 p.m.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the deaths as a tragedy after it emerged the plane had been leased from a Victorian aviation company.
“Our condolences and thoughts go out to the loved ones of the three (people) who died in this terrible accident,” she said.
‘They were from a Victorian company based in Stawell. They were doing work in support of the bushfires in Queensland, so this really is a terrible tragedy.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has launched an investigation into the crash and expects to issue a preliminary report within six to eight weeks.