The Pilot of a BARRIER AIR Cessna 310 was killed yesterday shortly after dropping off a local football team and fans. His plane went down moments after taking off from Bathurst Island's Nguiu Airstrip in Australia's Nothern Territory. According to media reports, Pilot Jamie Stephens, 22, had returned Tiwi players and fans to Bathurst Island and had just taken off on the return trip, when the Cessna crashed about 1km from Nguiu Airstrip around 10pm last night. Distraught witnesses described the plane as "exploding in the sky" before coming down. A number of the Tiwi players crossed rivers and navigated their way through dense mangroves in the dark to locate the crash site. At least 1 Tiwi Bomber player stayed with the body all night so the crash scene would not be disturbed by wild animals before investigators could arrive on scene early today. The other teams members kept a watch in a perimeter around the crash site. The plane was part of a convoy of 5, returning the players to their community. 2 planes landed in Milikapiti on Melville Island while a further 3 planes landed in Nguiu on Bathhurst Island which is about 70km north of Darwin. The Australian Transportation Safety Board has opened an investigation.
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