Overview

• Police confirmed the single‑engine aircraft crashed and caught fire shortly after departing around 10 a.m. from Shellharbour Airport, south of Sydney.
• The victims were identified in media reports as Andrew Connors, 55, his wife Julianne, 54, and their friend Colin McLaughlin, 73.
• Flight tracking and witness accounts indicate the privately owned Piper‑type plane veered left moments after liftoff, with the left wing reportedly striking the tarmac before impact.
• A nearby Rural Fire Service training unit and Fire and Rescue NSW extinguished the blaze, but officials said the occupants could not be saved.
• Police declared a crime scene as the ATSB launched an investigation involving a drone site survey, wreckage examination, and collection of flight and maintenance records, with no cause determined.