A police spokeswoman said the pilot who died in a helicopter crash at Carmila this morning was a 50-year-old man from Emerald.
Police have not released the man's name.
UPDATE, 3.06pm:
BLAKE Lawn was working outside his property on Carmila West Rd when he heard the helicopter crash this morning.
"I was out in the yard working on my car and the chopper just went quiet, then the power went out. I thought something had happened," he said.
Blake, 16, who lives with his family on the 40ha (100-acre) farm, was just 1.5km from the cane paddock where the chopper crashed.
"I called my ex-girlfriend's father, who lives down the road a bit, he works for RACQ, and he told me about the helicopter that had crashed into the powerline," he said.
Blake and his father drove to the crash scene about 10.30am.
"There was a fire out here, over where it was," he said.
Blake said he had not personally known the pilot who died in the helicopter crash, but said he had worked in the area for a cane harvesting company.
UPDATE, 12.34pm:
A POLICE media spokesman says investigators have established the crash occurred at around 10.20am today.
He said the crash happened at a property on Jackson's Crossing Rd, off Carmila West Rd, and the victim was the sole occupant of the helicopter.
The spokesman said police are attempting to contact the man's family, but are not yet publicly releasing his age.
Police continue to investigate at the scene.
Blake, 16, who lives with his family on the 40ha (100-acre) farm, was just 1.5km from the cane paddock where the chopper crashed.
"I called my ex-girlfriend's father, who lives down the road a bit, he works for RACQ, and he told me about the helicopter that had crashed into the powerline," he said.
Blake and his father drove to the crash scene about 10.30am.
"There was a fire out here, over where it was," he said.
Blake said he had not personally known the pilot who died in the helicopter crash, but said he had worked in the area for a cane harvesting company.
INITIAL:
A MAN has died in a helicopter crash at a cane farm near Carmila West Rd, about one hours drive south of Mackay.
A QAS spokesman said the man had been spraying a cane paddock when the Jet Ranger helicopter he was piloting clipped a powerline and crashed.
Emergency services received the 000 call at 10.28am today.
When emergency crews arrived at the scene the cane field was in flames, and Queensland Fire and Emergency Services personnel had to clear the scene before paramedics could access the helicopter.
The spokesman said the man had died by the time QAS reached him.
A pilot has died after his helicopter crashed and burst into flames in a central Queensland cane field.
The aircraft came down after clipping power lines while spraying a paddock at Carmila, south of Mackay, on Friday morning.
Paramedics and fire crews rushed to the paddock on Carmila West Road after a triple-zero call was made just before 10.30am (AEST).
An ambulance service spokesman said a fire hampered efforts to get to the Jet Ranger helicopter.
"Initially we couldn't access the patient due to the safety and the cane paddock being on fire," he told AAP.
The pilot was found dead inside the chopper.
Police said residents only became aware of the crash when they heard a loud explosion followed by a power outage.
Blake Lawn, 16, was working outside at a nearby farm when he realised something had happened.
"I was out in the yard working on my car and the chopper just went quiet, then the power went out," he told the Mackay Daily Mercury.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash remotely.
"We are not attending the site based on the initial reports from the Queensland Police that it was a wire strike," a spokesman told AAP.
Original article can be found here: http://www.sbs.com.au
Police continue to investigate a helicopter crash near Carmilla, south of Mackay, which killed an Emerald man.
It is understood the 50-year-old was spraying canefields when his helicopter clipped the powerlines, sending the aircraft crashing into the field and bursting into flames.
Paramedics received a call at 10.27am but arrived to find the cane paddock, about six kilometres from the township of Carmilla, was alight.
When they were able to access the helicopter a short time later they found the man deceased.
It is not believed anyone else was injured in the accident.
Police and Queensland Fire and Rescue are on the scene dealing with the fire and the downed powerlines.
The forensic crash unit, CIB and scenes of crime are all on route to the scene of the accident.
Original article can be found here: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au
Authorities are investigating a helicopter crash in central Queensland that has left one person dead.
Around 10:30am, the Jet Ranger helicopter is believed to have clipped powerlines and crashed into a sugarcane farm on Jackson Crossing Road near Carmila, about 100 kilometres south of Mackay.
The helicopter burst into flames when it crashed.
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service had to extinguish the flames before paramedics could get to the wreckage.
The male pilot and sole occupant was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said there were no witnesses and that residents only became aware of the accident when they heard a loud explosion, followed by a power outage and then a fire the cane field.
A spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said the crash was being investigated remotely.
"We are working in conjunction with the Queensland police," he said.
"They will be providing photos and information about various other things that may have occurred.
"If the helicopter is found to have not suffered a wire strike we will go to the location."
Original article can be found here: http://www.abc.net.au
A man has died after his helicopter crashed and sparked a fire in a canefield in central Queensland.
The aircraft came down after clipping power lines while spraying a paddock in Carmila West Road at Carmila, south of Mackay, on Friday morning.
A triple-zero call about the Jet Ranger helicopter was made at 10.27am (AEST).
'Initially we couldn't access the patient due to the safety and the cane paddock being on fire,' an ambulance service spokesman told AAP.
The pilot was found dead inside the chopper.
Fire crews were able to get the blaze under control and specialist police were en route.
Story and video: http://www.skynews.com.au
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