REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Wednesday, January 28, 2004

THIS handful of aircraft insulation, a flight manual and a blanket was all that was left of a missing twin-engine, six-seater Piper Aerostar plane that went down with its two pilots off the Gold Coast.

The debris was found floating in waters off Byron Bay and left little doubt in the minds of authorities as to the fate of the stricken aircraft.

Gold Coast instructor John Woodman and a young trainee pilot were missing, feared dead, after an extensive search off the coast of northern NSW failed to find any signs of life.

“We have found debris from the aircraft,” said a Bureau of Air Safety Investigations spokesman.

“We have found a flight manual that has been positively identified as belonging to the aircraft.

“We are now concentrating our search in the area where the debris was found in the hope of finding survivors. But the radar information paints a fairly grim picture at this stage.”

Friend and colleague Danny Foster of Falcon Training Services which owns the light aircraft said Mr Woodman was a former military pilot. “The instructor is very well respected throughout the training industry for his skills as an instructor. He is also a great guy and a good friend,” said a highly emotional Mr Foster.

“The student he was flying with was looking for a change of career. He had a business on the Gold Coast but he wanted to do something else.

“Both men are married and have children and are very honourable.”

The plane’s wreckage and the bodies of both men were never recovered.