Police say authorities have retrieved the bodies of three ABC newsmen killed in a helicopter crash in South Australia's outback.
Journalist Paul Lockyer, cameraman John Bean and pilot Gary Ticehurst died after their chopper crashed near Lake Eyre on Thursday night while they were working on news and feature projects in the region.
Prior to the crash they were interviewing tourists on a small island near Lake Eyre. After taking off, witnesses reported seeing the helicopter making an unusual manoeuvre before dropping out of sight.
It is believed their bodies were retrieved yesterday and brought back to Adelaide.
A preliminary report on the crash will be released within 30 days.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says it will take several days to search through the wreckage about 150 kilometres north-west of Marree.
Joe Hattley from the ATSB says investigators will today continue combing through the wreckage, and indicated a factual report should be completed inside a month.
"Obviously the more evidence we get the more the likely we are going to be able to determine what the factors are for the accident," he said.
"We'll also be talking to the witnesses, looking at the operational history of the aircraft, looking at the maintenance records.
"All those sorts of things all form pieces of the puzzle if you like, to put it together to try and determine what happened on the day.
"And then we need to go through all those other aspects, looking at the weather, looking at the operational factors, looking at the maintenance, all those types of things will take some time.
"The ATSB will release a preliminary factual report in 30 days after the accident, that'll give the factual information and the evidence that we've got to that time."
Despite the timeline on the initial report, it could take a year before the cause of the crash is known.
The trio were remembered yesterday at a memorial service in the South Australian town of William Creek, where about 100 people paid their respects.
ABC managing director Mark Scott paid tribute to the men, who he called "three news gatherers at the peak of their craft".
"These guys loved getting out and about and finding great Australian stories and bringing them to the Australian people," he said.
"That's what they've been doing the last few days and their loss would be a terrible loss to all of us here."
On Friday morning John Bean's wife, Landline reporter Pip Courtney, said he was "the most wonderful husband a girl could wish for".
"Devastated, broken, I will be lost without him," she said in a statement.
"I fell in love with him on the road and adored working with him. He was so, so talented, I loved watching him at work. So privileged. I can't believe he's gone. Our families are devastated."
Courtney wrote in today's Sunday Telegraph that it "was such a privilege to be his wife".
Lockyer's wife Maria also issued a statement.
"For 38 years Paul has been my soul mate, a loving husband and father and a loyal friend to many. He will be in our thoughts every day," she said.
The family of veteran pilot Ticehurst said he was a hero.
"It’s not every day you get to meet a legitimate hero so we, his loved ones, are eternally grateful to have spent a lifetime with one," the family said in a statement.
Three of the best
Lockyer was one of the ABC's most experienced journalists with an award-winning career spanning more than 40 years locally and internationally.
He had been a correspondent in Washington, Singapore and throughout Asia and won a Logie Award for best TV reporter.
His work in recent years focused on regional and rural issues and his work on the Queensland floods this year won universal acclaim.
Ticehurst is a legend among media pilots - he has served the ABC for more than 25 years and was well liked by all who flew with him.
He had served as the lead pilot for the ABC in Sydney since the mid 1980s and was a larger-than-life figure who was known by everyone in the news room.
Brisbane-based cameraman Bean has worked for the ABC for 20 years across a diverse range of programs in news and entertainment, including international assignments.
He travelled extensively throughout Australia and the Pacific region for work and last year completed a stint in the Washington Bureau.
The tragedy is the worst to hit the ABC since four staff members died in a light plane crash west of Rockhampton in 1983.
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