Search for missing Qld plane to continue

1 Oct 2012, 8:21 pm   -   Source: AAP

The pilot of a vintage light airplane that's missing in southeastern Queensland along with five passengers had been raising money for charity.

The pilot of a missing light airplane had been fundraising for charity before his craft carrying five people vanished in southeastern Queensland.

Des Porter, 68, was giving scenic flights in his prized red 1930s biplane at an airshow in central Queensland on Monday morning, according to the organiser of the Monto Fly-In.

Mr Porter is one of six people on board the 1930s de Havilland DH84 which left the town of Monto, 180 kilometres west of Bundaberg, shortly after 11am (AEST).

It's believed the other passengers were two elderly couples and Mr Porter's partner.

The plane had been due to arrive at Caboolture Airport, north of Brisbane, about 2.15pm (AEST) but never arrived.

A distress call from Mr Porter shortly after 1pm was picked up by a Nine Network helicopter pilot.

Mr Porter said he was having difficulty positioning himself and wanted assistance, the helicopter pilot said.

The aircraft's emergency beacon was activated at about 2.45pm (AEST), according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

Police and Australian Search and Rescue are coordinating an air and land search west of the Imbil area and about 70km north of Caboolture.

Two helicopters conducted flyovers of the search zone on Monday afternoon but found no sign of the missing airplane or its occupants.

A spokeswoman for AMSA says search conditions were "not ideal", with low and thick cloud blanketing the area.

A night rescue aircraft with electronic search capabilities including infra-red and heat-sensing technology will continue searching overnight.

Planning is underway for a full-scale search on Tuesday morning, which will include more aircraft - both helicopters and fixed wing - and possibly people on foot.

Monto Fly-In organiser Myles Breitkreutz said Mr Porter was a highly experienced pilot.

He last saw his airplane taxiing from the airstrip, 180km west of Bundaberg, shortly after 11am (AEST).

The aviator said he'd invited Mr Porter to the airshow and felt terrible but wasn't giving up hope his friend was safe.

"I know the capabilities of Des as a pilot and we've got our thoughts and hopes that he's made an emergency landing in a paddock and waiting for weather to clear and everything's cool," he said.

Helping the Royal Flying Doctor Service and other people was Mr Porter's "passion and his life", Mr Breitkreutz said.

The six missing had been part of large number of aviation enthusiasts who descended on the small town of Monto for the weekend airshow.

Simone Ryan, from Monto's Three Moon Motel, said the motel was booked out for the entire weekend with many of the organisers of the airshow staying there.

"The people who were with that plane stayed here," she said told AAP.

"It's terrible, they were absolutely lovely people."

Mr Porter survived a fatal crash in the same model airplane which claimed the lives of his father and brother in the 1950s.

He was 10 when the plane flown by his father went down in a creek in Brisbane's south in 1954.

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