Police in Western Australia are searching for a helicopter that went missing in the Pilbara, about 1,300km north of Perth, with a 62-year-old pilot on board.
The single-seat helicopter took off from Indee station en route to Roy Hill station, 70km south of Port Hedland, at 4pm on Tuesday.
The 300km flight was supposed to take no more than three hours and a search was called when it missed its scheduled arrival time of 6.30pm.
A spokeswoman for WA police said the search was being coordinated by police based in South Hedland.
As well as being a 400,000 hectare cattle station, Roy Hill station is the site of mining billionaire Gina Rinehart’s latest open-cut iron ore mine, which is due to begin exporting late this year.
Two helicopters, one from Indee station and one from Roy Hill station, joined the aerial search for the missing helicopter.
They’re joined by a fixed-wing charter plane and the Dornier search plane, belonging to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
