A SYDNEY family of five, including three children aged 10 and under, died yesterday after their twin-engine aeroplane crashed in flames into bushland seconds after taking off from a north Queensland airstrip.

The Piper Aztec plane had just taken off at about 11.40am when witnesses heard a bang and saw smoke rising from scrub about 2km from the Mareeba airstrip on the Atherton Tablelands.

Ambulance officers, State Emergency Service workers and firefighters were on the scene within minutes, but found the plane had disintegrated.

Gerald and Caroline Mall, their son David, 10, and two daughters, Amy, 7, and Elysse, 5, left their southern Sydney home at Connells Point a week ago to spend time in the remote Gulf of Carpentaria town of Karumba before arriving in Mareeba on Sunday.

The father of three, a director of avionics with Sydney company Heli-Muster and a pilot for 20 years, had told staff at the airstrip on his arrival on Sunday that he had just bought the plane and planned to take his family to Cairns for a brief trip.

“He came over and introduced himself when they arrived and wanted to know if he could buy fuel on Monday, but he didn’t turn up until this morning,” an airport fuel attendant said.

“He seemed like a very friendly, casual bloke, and I was going to offer them a lift down to Cairns, but they had already arranged a car.”

Australian Transport Safety Board spokesman Peter Saint said two senior investigators would begin interviewing witnesses and picking through the remains of the aircraft today, but conceded the extent of the fire could hamper investigations. “Fire can complicate matters a hell of a lot because very often gauges will be destroyed,” he said.

Mr Mall had not registered a flight plan before takeoff, and the emergency beacon was not activated.

Heli-Muster general manager Peter Russell said Mr Mall was a long- standing staff member.

“He was a very respected member of this staff and we will miss him very much,” he said.

The NSW Education Department’s District Superintendent for St George, Ken Olah, said a support plan was being put in place for students and staff of Connells Point Public School, which all three children attended.

“We will have a team of counsellors available for students, a staff welfare officer and an employee counsellor available to staff,” Mr Olah said.

The smouldering wreck, above, of the plane that crashed at Mareeba yesterday, killing a family of five. Left: victim Elysse Mall, 5. Right: A Piper Aztec similar to the crash plane

Main picture:

Graham Crouch