MP Robbie Katter and pregnant wife walk away from 'traumatic' light plane crash

Thursday, 21 August 2025 16:23

Traeger MP Robbie Katter, his pregnant wife and a member of his staff have walked away uninjured after a light plane crash in North Queensland.

Queensland MP Robbie Katter, his pregnant wife and a member of his staff have walked away uninjured after a light plane crash in the outback.

Katter was piloting his white and green 1985 Mooney M20 plane from Normanton to Mount Isa Airport when he experienced an issue during landing about 11.20am yesterday.

"It did occur after landing, and ended up with the plane becoming slightly airborne and then back down again," he told 9news.com.au.

Traeger MP Robbie Katter, his pregnant wife and a member of his staff have walked away uninjured after a light plane crash in North Queensland.

Katter said panic set in, and he did his best to bring the plane back under control.

"There's an element of panic, and I think that detracts from your judgment, but that's something you work on as a pilot, is trying to be certain in those moments," he said.

"Thoroughly regretful that it happened, and I'm pretty hard on myself, so getting myself into that position, and I guess the best I can say is I'm just committed to trying to improve on where those areas come from."

No one was injured in the crash. His pregnant wife, Daisy Katter, is doing okay.

Katter said the incident has been "traumatic".

"The only damage is psychological, but it hasn't fooled me. Certainly would knock me for six," he said.

The Mooney M20 plane, however, suffered some damage and may not be recoverable.

The former property valuer and miner has been the Traeger MP since 2018 and the leader of Katter's Australian Party since 2020.

His electorate is one of the largest in the country, and covers about 428,900 square kilometres of rural and outback Queensland.

He said he began aviation in 2018 to help him travel across his electorate and to parliament in Brisbane.

"That's helped me get better use out of my travel budget, and it's helped me get around the electorate a lot more effectively," he said.

"That will play a strong role in determining what I do in the future, because I'm pretty committed to the role I do now and aviation's become a big part of that."

Katter had spent the two days before the crash travelling to Doomadgee, Burketown, Mornington Island and Normanton.

A Mount Isa Airport spokesperson said the incident did not impact their operations.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash.

Katter said it is too early for him to get back in the air and will have to engage his insurers.

"I'll try and get back in the air and getting around pretty soon," he said.

"In the meantime, I'll just be driving a lot more. It won't hurt me to drive around."

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