THE son of a long-serving former Ipswich District police officer, and his pregnant wife, died in a plane accident in Central Queensland on Sunday afternoon.
Rhiley, 22, and Maree Kuhrt, 24, managed Natal Downs station. Rhiley was piloting the plane on their 430km flight to Mackay for a prenatal appointment.
The couple were expected to land in Lakeside Airpark in Bloomsberry, late on Sunday afternoon. When they failed to arrive, a search began for the missing light aircraft.
The wreckage of the couple’s Piper Cherokee was located around 10.15am on Monday, on the slopes of the Mount Hector Range west of Proserpine. The couple did not survive the crash.
Mackay Police Inspector Andrew Godbold said on Monday that preliminary investigations suggested visibility was poor, “probably down to nothing”, when the plane crashed.
“A lot of showers, thunder and probably visibility down to nothing,” he said.
Rhiley, who was to celebrate his 23rd birthday on Wednesday, was the youngest son of Sen Sgt Lindsay Kuhrt and his wife, Marina.
Sen Sgt Kuhrt was the Officer in Charge of the Rosewood Station for 18 years before he and his wife moved to the Mackay district to be closer to their two sons and daughter.
During his time in Rosewood, Sen Sgt Kuhrt, relieved at Yamanto Station including a stint as Acting District Duty Officer.
He was also the Ipswich District Search and Rescue Co-ordinator, during his latter years in Rosewood.
Before they moved to Mackay, they were living on a property they had purchased at Mt Walker.
Sen Sgt Kuhrt said Rhiley and Maree were married in October last year.
“The week after the wedding, they bought the plane and found out that Maree was pregnant.
“Both loved flying around the property they managed.
“Rhiley’s lifelong dream was planes. He got his pilot’s licence and bought his dream plane.
“He was someone who, when he set his mind to something, no one could change it.”
“And they were expecting a daughter and had already named her, Phoebe.”
Rhiley has a four-year-old daughter, Bailey, from a previous relationship.
Tributes to the popular couple flowed as news of their death was reported.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau are expected to begin investigations into the cause of the crash, this week.
