Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 21:15
Chris,
I think I can add some background information about the
plaque.
I (together with five companions) visited the
crash site on 23 May 1997. At the time we were doing the Ann Beadell and Gunbarrel Highways, but knew nothing about the aircraft wreck until we came across this
sign beside the ABH :-
Sign to wreck
At the wreck site we found a Visitors' Book in the luggage locker in the right wing and an entry in it showed that Bill Baker (from
Perth) was the first person to visit the wreck by land but, unfortunately, the date of his visit was not recorded. However, the avionics had already been removed.
Visitors'Book
Mr Baker visited the site for a second time on 19 April 1997 and, as can be seen, the engines and undercarriage had been removed by then.
Even though the crash had occurred some four years before our visit, there was still a surprising amount of personal luggage scattered around the wreck site, as
well as various items of electoral material.
Like you, I also subsequently obtained a copy of the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Report (Occurrence Brief 9300002) to find out just what had happened and, in October 1997, I spoke (by phone) to the Officer who had carried out the investigation into the accident. Attached is a copy of the note I made about that conversation and, as can be seen, it adds a bit more information about how the passengers and pilot were rescued:-
Note re phone conversation
I often wondered what happened to these people in later life and it was therefore very gratifying to peruse the information set out in thread 108331 (which I had not previously seen).
I have also attached a copy of a photo of the wreck which I took on 23 May 1997 and compare it with the photos posted by Scott M (NSW) on 20 June 2014 and Stephen L (
Clare SA) on 21 June 2014. Despite being in a desert, the vegetation is clearly starting to encroach on the rear of the aircraft. Unfortunately, it is also sad to see how the wreck has been vandalized since the time of my visit.
So, to answer your question, I am fairly confident that Bill Baker died in recent times and the
plaque was put there by his friends to honour the work he did in making this wreck available to all Australians who take the trouble to explore these remote parts of our marvelous country.
RogerK
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