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Byron Shire
November 9, 2026

Body found in search for helicopter crash pilot

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The body of a man believed to have been piloting a Robinson R44 helicopter that crashed near Tenterfield was found on Sunday, police said.

A multi-agency search operation for the helicopter happened over the weekend, with police receiving reports of the missing aircraft nearly twelve hours after it left the Gold Coast around 9am Friday 13 March, headed for Mudgee.

The helicopter never arrived and police said Friday night’s search mission had to be suspended owing to severe weather and poor visibility.

Officers from the Richmond Police District were involved in the discovery of wreckage in dense bushland north of Drake early Saturday afternoon.

Emergency services found the body of a 77-year-old man believed to be the missing pilot shortly before 2pm Sunday and started a recovery operation.

He wasn’t formally identified and police said the Australian transport safety Bureau was investigating the cause of the crash.



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