Mt Emerald Air Crash

Another day I will never forget..A FAR NORTHERN TRAGEDY
Still living with my parents, I returned home from work one afternoon and found my mother sitting beside the phone with a concerned look on her face. She had been watching television and a message had flashed across the screen that a plane carrying Far North Queensland local government officials was missing on route from Airlie Beach to Cairns.

Dad had been invited to do a presentation on local government management with Cairns Mayor Keith Goodwin, at a conference at Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays, so naturally we were concerned. In those days many of the councils in North Qld used to hire private charter planes to take councillors to meetings in areas where there were no regular air services.

No sooner had mum informed me of the news than the phone rang. It was media, asking mum if she had heard from Tom. We both decided to stay by the phone with the television on to find out whatever news we could, good or bad. We both feared the worst.

It emerged that earlier that day Keith Goodwin and dad had made their presentations. Dad tried to get on the Cessna home, but all the seats were taken. He stood envious of Keith and his other colleagues, as he waved them goodbye and made his way to get on a bus thinking, “I’d rather be with them than endure the drive back to Cairns.” He could not have known that the while bus would safely make it to its destination, the Cessna never would.

On that day in 1990 the Cessna crashed into Mt Emerald and all aboard lost their lives. They were Keith Goodwin, Rose Blank, Ivan Wilkinson, Harry Rankine, Elwyn Phillips, Bruno Riedweg, Hector Wallace, Sister Nadia Giovanna del Popolo, Joesph Frederick Newman, Graham Gilbert Luxton and pilot Stan Lingren. This tragedy shook the community and robbed the Far North of some of our much loved and most respected leaders.
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