Relatives of a couple who were expecting a baby girl when they died in a light plane crash have revealed the name she was going to be given.
Rhiley Kuhrt, 22, and his partner Maree, 24, set off from cattle station Natal Downs, south of Charters Towers in rural Queensland, on Sunday afternoon.
Their white and green Piper Cherokee failed to arrive at Lakeside Airpark, in Prosperine, later that day prompting a frantic search by authorities, before the wreckage was discovered on Monday.
The couple were due to have a baby girl in June and were flying to a medical appointment at a local hospital in Prosperine.
Mr Kuhrt’s sister Beccarah Markham-Gaudion broke her silence on Tuesday revealing her brother and his wife were considering calling their child Phoebe.
The family of a couple who were expecting a baby before they died in a light plane crash have revealed the name the baby girl was going to be given
She kickstarted a GoFundMe to raise money for their funerals and shared a photo of an ultrasound of the unborn baby
Ms Markham-Gaudion started a GoFundMe to raise money for their funerals and shared a photo of an ultrasound of the unborn baby.
‘On Sunday the 2nd of April, my brother Rhiley, his wife Maree, and their beautiful unborn baby girl Phoebe tragically lost their lives during a routine flight to see family,’ she wrote.
‘We are all absolutely heartbroken and utterly grief stricken. 3 incredible lives were cut way too short.
‘Whilst we grieve and try to seek comfort in each other, we ask for your help and support us in covering costs for Rhiley, Maree, and angel baby Phoebe’s funerals.’
Ms Markham-Gaudion thanked the community for their ‘ongoing support during this dark time in our lives.’
The GoFundMe has already raised more than $4,700 of its $20,000 target.
Mr Kuhrt had purchased the plane just six months before he and his wife crashed in remote bushland in the Clarke Ranges on Monday afternoon.
Mackay police district inspector Andrew Godbold said the couple had been flying through a storm in the lead-up.
‘They would have faced with a lot of showers, a lot of thunder and probably visibility down to next to nothing,’ he said.
Mr Kuhrt revealed his plans to buy another aircraft to ‘match’ his Piper Cherokee to Facebook friends last November.
He posted a screenshot of a 1964 Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche aircraft with a multi engine propeller advertised online for $159,900.
‘Gotta set goals in life and my next goal to add to the hanger with my cherokee 180 is a piper twin comanche would look good next to my Cherokee,’ the post read.
One friend joked the keen aviator should buy a plane that could fit a car inside.
‘Haha yer when I get a few million together I’ll get a big army one that can carry a bunch of cars,’ Mr Kuhrt replied.
Photos and videos from the couple’s social media pages have revealed Mr Kuhrt had a passion for flying while his wife was a keen horsewoman.
The pair were married last October and shared several photos of them kissing on a hillside and astride horses in a spacious paddock.
‘My complete happiness,’ Mrs Kuhrt captioned the pictures.
Mr Kuhrt’s last Facebook post was a video recording of one of his many flights over rural south-west Queensland.
‘Wick afternoon run over the sorghum harvest and abit of fun,’ the post read.
The last photo posted to Instagram by Ms Kuhrt before she and her partner were killed in a light plane crash in Queensland
In another video Mr Kuhrt is seen smiling and laughing at the camera before showing a handful of dogs sitting patiently in the back seat.
The camera then pans down to the mountainous regions below the aircraft.
The couple had been preparing for the arrival of their daughter after making the announcement to family and friends on Instagram in December.
They had celebrated a gender reveal party with loved ones in February.
Mrs Kuhrt shared a video of her and her husband popping confetti to reveal the baby was a girl as delighted friends and family watch on.
The expectant mother made her last Instagram post on Saturday – a day before the doomed flight – and shared a selfie showcasing her growing baby bump.
’27 weeks now! Getting closer and closer to meeting baby girl,’ she wrote.
Loved ones have expressed their shock and grief at the news on social media.
‘My heart is breaking for you and your families, just days ago we were talking about how exciting it’s going to be raising our children together,’ one wrote.
‘You were honestly a beautiful couple and deserved nothing but happiness but that got taken away from you all of a sudden,’ another said.
‘You were going to be parents in a short amount of time. I will cherish the memories and moments we had working together last year.’
Mr Kuhrt is the son of a Mackay district police senior sergeant and head stockman and pilot at Nerrigundah station.
He was raised in Ipswich and learned how to fly at Darling Downs Aero club, a flight training school in Toowoomba.
The desperate search for the missing couple was launched by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre on Sunday.
Two helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft failed to find any trace of the missing aircraft on Monday night.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Ricus Lombard said search teams had to contend with poor and wet conditions.
‘It’s easing … (but the) potential with showers and storms. There is a fair bit of cloud as well,’ Mr Lombard said.
Mr Kuhrt is the son of a Mackay district police senior sergeant and head stockman and pilot at Nerrigundah station
The pair were married last October and shared several photos of them kissing on a hillside and astride horses in a spacious paddock
