Barambah Organics founder Ian Campbell died in a plane crash south of Brisbane on Monday alongside his daughter Hannah – weeks after his wife spoke about their shared love of flying in a media interview.
Ian Campbell, 56, and Hannah, 23, were killed when their Beechcraft A36 Bonanza light plane plunged into a rural property on Musch Rd at Chambers Flat near Logan shortly after 11am on Monday.
Flightradar24 data shows the pair were airborne for eight minutes after taking off from Brisbane’s Archerfield Airport.
Locals called Triple Zero after hearing an explosion and seeing black smoke billowing into the air.
Mr Campbell founded the well-known dairy business with his wife Jane in 2002 after converting his fourth-generation family farm. The family still part-owns the company.
In an interview published just weeks before the tragedy, Ms Campbell spoke of the family’s love of flying and how it had bonded her to her husband.
‘We’re probably adrenaline junkies. Flying has been a big part of our married life from the very beginning,’ Ms Campbell told My Darling Downs.
‘It’s really exciting getting up in the air, even if you’re just checking paddocks.
‘We love seeing how different the country looks from above, across Beardmore Dam to the Dumaresq and Maranoa rivers. Seeing just how patching the rain can be is incredible.’
Queensland businessman Ian Campbell (pictured) and his daughter Hannah were onboard the light plane that crashed south of Brisbane on Monday
23-year-old Hannah Campbell was killed in the crash
The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza crashed into a rural property near Logan just after 11am
Ms Campbell said the couple had learnt to fly at Archerfield in 1999 and completed their pilot training together as part of their honeymoon.
On Monday, Logan district officer police Chief Superintendent Mel Adams appealed for anyone who saw the plane or witnessed the crash to come forward.
‘It was a very confronting scene, as you can imagine,’ she said.
‘What I would ask is for anybody who heard the aircraft, saw the aircraft in the air before it crashed in the Stockleigh area … [or] for anybody that may have witnessed the aircraft hit the ground… please, as a matter of priority, contact police.’
A local resident who saw the crash said it sounded like the plane was struggling before it hit the ground.
‘It was flying directly over our house, quite low, and it was spluttering so it was clear that there was some engine issues,’ Eldjie Cojocaru told 7News.
‘I saw it bank and it went down, and then I heard a… bang.’
Photos from the scene showed the wreckage of the plane strewn across a blackened paddock.
Three investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were deployed to the scene.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Barambah Organics and their other company, Mañana Pastoral, for comment.
