The final moments of a flight in Far North Queensland were "unexceptional and quite normal" before the aircraft ploughed into a sand dune claiming the lives of all five people on board. 

QBuild workers Wayne Ganter, 63, Henry Roebig, 62, Wayne Brischke, 57, contractor Mark Rawlings, 49, and pilot Stuart Weavell, 36, died when the Cessna 404 crashed on approach at the Lockhart River aerodrome on March 11, 2020.

An inquest into the tragedy is underway in Cairns with coroner Nerida Wilson to examine the training and experience of the pilot during the five days hearing.

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It was a journey Weavell had piloted a number of times before, the court was told. 

That day, the five men had flown from Cairns and the crash happened upon a second landing attempt in poor visibility.

"It has been three years, I'm acutely aware of that," the coroner said opening the inquest on Monday.

"I'm acutely aware, having been the coroner here for a number of years, that this crash has caused enormous suffering, both for the families and the ripple effect in the township of Lockhart River which, as we know, has now suffered two tragedies as a result of plane crashes.

"So let's see together if we can make some meaning. I can't make those promises but I absolutely eternally hope that we can."

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Wilson will also probe the circumstances of the flight, the pilot's training, operator Air Connect Australia's safety procedures, policy surrounding terrain avoidance warning systems, and how similar accidents could be avoided.

Counsel assisting Ian Harvey said final transmissions from the pilot between 9.07am and the time of impact at 9.20am were nothing out of the ordinary. 

"The flight was affected by inclement weather with areas of cloud and rain significantly reducing visibility for a pilot seeking to land at Lockhart River aerodrome that morning," Harvey said. 

"The pilot made a number of broadcasts … quite unexceptional, quite normal and quite appropriate calls for a pilot to make at that particular junction."

Harvey described the fatal flight as continuing in a controlled manner. 

"Shortly before 9.20 that morning, the aircraft impacted the sand dunes … all those on board were fatally injured and due to the impact forces, the accident was not survivable." 

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Harvey said the inquest would hear from fellow pilots and investigators, but it was hoped the hearing could help prevent similar tragedies. 

An Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation found the aircraft was being flown about 1000ft below the recommended height before it crashed.

It was also travelling at 150 knots – about 280km/h – at the point of impact, a speed "inappropriate" for the position. 

However, the pilot had been in control until the point of impact, and there was no evidence of mechanical problems in the lead-up to the accident.

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The ATSB found the pilot had probably failed to check the Cessna's height and tried to land it solo in very poor visibility.

"Overall, misreading the altimeter by 1000 feet appears to be the most likely scenario, although there was insufficient evidence to provide a definitive conclusion," the ATSB found.

The ATSB said its probe highlighted the importance of terrain avoidance and warning systems in helping pilots in poor visibility.

In 2005, 15 people aboard a Metroliner aircraft travelling from Bamaga to Cairns were killed when it slammed into a mountain at Lockhart River.

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Traffic on the key bridge connecting Crimea to Russia's mainland has been halted amid reports of explosions.

The health ministry in Russia's Krasnodar region, which lies at the eastern end of the bridge, said two people were killed in an unspecified accident on the bridge and their daughter was injured.

The governor of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, announced the closure of the bridge early Monday but did not specify the reason.

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News reports said local residents heard explosions before dawn, but there was no confirmation.

The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but Governor Sergei Aksyonov said he expected rail traffic on the bridge to resume within several hours.

The Telegram channel Baza, which has ties to Russia's security services, posted photos showing one lane on the bridge's roadway torn up and a black car with its front end appearing to be shattered.

The bridge, which spans the Kerch Strait, was damaged in October by a truck bomb and required months of repairs before resuming full service.

The bridge carries both road and rail traffic and is an important supply artery for Russia's war in Ukraine.

The 19km bridge opened in 2018 and is the main land connection between Russia and the Crimean peninsula.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence department, declined to comment Monday on the incident but said: "The peninsula is used by the Russians as a large logistical hub for moving forces and assets deep into the territory of Ukraine. Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers."

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China's fast fashion retailer Shein is facing a lawsuit in the US that claims the clothing maker's copyright infringement is so aggressive, it amounts to racketeering.

The filing this week claims that Shein is in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, better known as RICO, a law originally crafted to prosecute organised crime.

"Shein has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, as part of a long and continuous pattern of racketeering, which shows no sign of abating," the filing says.

READ MORE: Millions across country warned to brace

In an organised effort to create as many as 6000 new items per day, Shein uses a "byzantine shell game of a corporate structure" to rip off designers, a coordinated illegal operation that can best be combated through the use of RICO statutes, according to the lawsuit.

The suit says the fast fashion retailer violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, alleging that these claims are appropriate because Shein is not just one single entity but rather a "de-facto association of entities".

The USA's RICO laws were introduced in the 1970s to weaken high-profile organised crime groups, including the infamous "Gambino crime family".

If prosecutors can show that there's an organisation of people who commit crimes together on a recurring basis as a group or gang, then any single member can be prosecuted for any of the crimes the organisation may commit. 

The lawsuit is just the latest in a series of difficulties Shein has faced.

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In May a bipartisan group of two dozen lawmakers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to put the brakes on an initial public offering by Shein until it verified that it does not use forced labour from the country's predominantly Muslim Uyghur population.

The lawsuit, filed by three fashion designers in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges "Shein produced, distributed, and sold exact copies of their creative work".

"At issue here, inexplicably, are truly exact copies of copyrightable graphic design appearing on Shein products," the civil lawsuit states.

The designers are seeking unspecified damages and want injunctive relief to prevent further racketeering activity.

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"Shein takes all claims of infringement seriously, and we take swift action when complaints are raised by valid IP rights holders," Shein said in a prepared statement Friday.

"We will vigorously defend ourselves against this lawsuit and any claims that are without merit."

Shein hasn't said whether it plans to go public this year, but there are reports that the company is raising money in anticipation of a US listing before the end of the year.

Shein spokesperson Peter Pernot-Day has said the company takes transparency across its entire supply chain seriously.

But a Congressional report last month unloaded a blistering critique of Shein and another Chinese fashion retailer, Temu.

The report is part of an ongoing Congressional investigation into products offered to American consumers that could be made with forced labour in China.

As part of the probe, the committee sent letters in early May to brands Nike and Adidas, as well as Shein and Temu asking for information about their compliance with the anti-forced labour law.

Shein said at the time that the company's "policy is to comply with the customs and import laws of the countries in which we operate."

It also said it has "zero tolerance" for forced labour and has implemented a robust system to ensure compliance with US law.

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A woman has been taken to hospital after she was attacked by multiple dingoes on K'gari, off the coast of Queensland.

The 24-year-old was jogging near Orchid Beach around 9am this morning when she was surrounded by four dingoes, also known as wongari, and chased into the ocean, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science has confirmed.

Three of the dingoes attacked her in the ocean, leaving her with serious injuries to her legs and arms, before two men in a 4WD rushed to her aid.

READ MORE: Millions across country warned to brace

The men put the woman in the back of the ute and drove to a nearby fenced area where the woman was given first aid before being flown to Hervey Bay Hospital.

One of the men was also injured in the process.

Queensland Parks and Wildlife are investigating the dingoes responsible and will increase patrols of Orchid Beach.

https://twitter.com/QldAmbulance/status/1680729880860987392

Authorities say one of the animals was collared.

Tracking collars have been used on dingoes on K'gari since 2011 to allow rangers to track their movements and monitor behaviour.

Dingoes loiter around Orchid Beach and are unafraid of humans because they have been habituated to being fed.

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A mysterious object that washed up on a remote beach in Western Australia is being treated as hazardous while authorities try to identify what it is.

Western Australia Police said an unidentified object washed up on a beach near Green Head, north of Perth, on Saturday afternoon.

Officers are working with state and federal agencies to figure out what the object is and where it came from.

READ MORE: Millions across country warned to brace

"In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, officers from the Western Australia Police Force are currently guarding the object," police said.

"This measure has been taken to ensure the preservation of potential evidence and facilitate further expert examination.

"The object is being treated as hazardous, until the origin of it can be established.

"People in the area should keep a safe distance."

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Police said the object didn't originate from a commercial aircraft – including MH370, which vanished in March 2014.

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An Australian survivor of a New Zealand volcano eruption is "still bothered" by having to leave his badly injured parents and seek help, a criminal trial has heard.

Jesse Langford, from Sydney, was 19-years-old when he joined his father Anthony, 51, mother Kristine, 46, and sister Winona, 17, on a family trip to New Zealand aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise liner Ovation of the Seas in late 2019.

Jesse would be left with burns to his hands, back and thighs, with his father, mother and sister killed on December 9, 2019 during a day trip to the Whakaari-White Island volcano located off New Zealand's northern coast.

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Langford's video interview with police in April 2020 was played to Auckland District Court on Monday where Whakaari-White Island's owners, ID Tours and Tauranga Tourism Services are accused of safety breaches that resulted in the deaths of 22 people, including 14 Australians.

Like previous Australian witness Annie Yongan Lu, Langford said he was given no indication of any dangers before going on the trip and had only a short safety briefing on the day with no plans for emergencies.

He said his tour group including his family members were caught in a relatively flat and open area on their walk down from the crater when the volcano erupted.

Langford said he was thrown over a mound by the force of an eruption before curling up in the foetal position and covering his head with his hands after being hit in the face by a flying rock.

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"I was being hammered by this sandstorm like in the movies where you can't see two metres in front of you. I was in so much pain," he said.

Once the eruption clouds lifted the island returned to the clear day it was before, except everything was covered in grey ash.

"Dad was sitting up and struggling to breathe while trying to get his gas mask off. Mum was not moving at all," Langford said.

He said he sat with the group for 15 to 20 minutes thinking about what he could do while feeling his whole body shot through with pain.

"I made the decision that I couldn't physically help anyone but I could let people know others had survived… it still bothers me making that decision to get up and walk away," Langford said.

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He said his goodbyes as best he could and then started following the dry riverbeds down to the pier where they had arrived on the island.

"By this time my hands were pretty much degloved… I thought, 'Am I going to die here or I am going to keep going?'" Langford said.

After finding help at the pier and reaching a hospital, Langford fell into a coma for eight days and woke up back in Australia in an intensive care unit.

Winona's body was never found and New Zealand authorities concluded she was probably washed out to sea.

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A group of hunters captured the longest burmese python ever documented in Florida, measuring 5.7 metres long.

It tops the 2020 record of 5.48 metres long.

"We cruised up real close to it and I realised it was an absolute monster," said python hunter Jake Waleri.

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"And we wrestled this thing for about three minutes before I got a hold of the head."

Burmese pythons are an invasive species that prey on native animals in Florida

"The significance of this is obviously that they're getting huge while eating our native wildlife," said Conservancy Biologist Ian Easterling.

"So, how many countless of our native wildlife were consumed by this animal in order to get this big?"

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Long the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley put a sizzling exclamation point on Sunday on a record warm summer that is baking nearly the entire globe by flirting with some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, meteorologists said.

Temperatures in Death Valley, which runs along part of central California's border with Nevada, reached 53.33 degrees Celsius on Sunday at the aptly named Furnace Creek, the National Weather Service said.

The hottest temperature ever record was 56.67 degrees in July 1913 at Furnace Creek, said Randy Ceverny of the World Meteorological Organisation, the body recognised as keeper of world records. Temperatures at or above 54.44 degrees have only been recorded on Earth a handful of times, mostly in Death Valley.

READ MORE: Millions across country warned to brace

"With global warming, such temperatures are becoming more and more likely to occur," Ceverny, the World Meteorological Organisation's records coordinator, said in an email. "Long-term: Global warming is causing higher and more frequent temperature extremes. Short-term: This particular weekend is being driven by a very very strong upper level ridge of high pressure over the Western US"

On Sunday in Death Valley, meteorologists were tracking high clouds in the area that could keep temperatures in check.

"The all-time record seems fairly safe today," said Matt Woods, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Las Vegas office, which monitors Death Valley.

The heat wave is just one part of the extreme weather hitting the US over the weekend. Five people died in Pennsylvania on Saturday when heavy rains caused a sudden flash flood that swept away multiple cars.

A nine-month-old boy and a two-year-old girl, remained missing. In Vermont, authorities were concerned about landslides as rain continued after days of flooding.

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Death Valley's brutal temperatures come amid a blistering stretch of hot weather that has put roughly one-third of Americans under some type of heat advisory, watch or warning. Heat waves are not as visually dramatic as other natural disasters, but experts say they are more deadly. A heat wave in parts of the South and Midwest killed more than a dozen people last month.

Residents in the western US have long been accustomed to extreme temperatures, and the heat appeared to prompt minimal disruptions in California over the weekend. Local governments opened cooling centres for people without access to air conditioning to stay cool. The heat forced officials to cancel horse racing at the opening weekend of the California State Fair as officials urged fair-goers to stay hydrated and seek refute inside one of the seven air-conditioned buildings.

In Las Vegas, temperatures reached 46.11 degrees early on Sunday afternoon, approaching the desert city's all-time high. Temperatures in Phoenix hit 44.4 degrees on early on Sunday afternoon, the 17th consecutive day of 43 degrees or higher. The record is 18 days, set in June 1974. Phoenix is on track to break that record on Tuesday, said Gabriel Lojero, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

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Heat records are being shattered all over the US South, from California to Florida. But it's far more than that. It's worldwide, with devastating heat hitting Europe along with dramatic floods in the US Northeast, India, Japan and China.

For nearly all of July, the world has been in uncharted hot territory, according to the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyser.

June was also the hottest June on record, according to several weather agencies. Scientists say there is a decent chance that 2023 will go down as the hottest year on record, with measurements going back to the middle of the 19th century.

Death Valley dominates global heat records. In the valley, it's not only hot, it stays brutally warm.

Some meteorologists have disputed how accurate Death Valley's 110-year-old hot-temperature record is, with weather historian Christopher Burt disputing it for several reasons, which he laid out in a blog post a few years ago.

The two hottest temperatures on record are the 56 degree in 1913 in Death Valley and 55 degrees in Tunisia in July 1931. Burt, a weather historian for The Weather Company, finds fault with both of those measurements and lists 54.4 degrees in July 2021 in Death Valley as his hottest recorded temperature on Earth.

"130 degrees (54.4C) is very rare if not unique," Burt said.

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In July 2021 and August 2020, Death Valley recorded a reading of 54.4 degrees, but both are still awaiting confirmation. Scientists have found no problems so far, but they haven't finished the analysis, NOAA climate analysis chief Russ Vose said.

There are other places similar to Death Valley that may be as hot, such as Iran's Lut Desert, but like Death Valley are uninhabited so no one measures there, Burt said. The difference was someone decided to put an official weather station in Death Valley in 1911, he said.

A combination of long-term human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is making the world hotter by the decade, with ups and downs year by year. Many of those ups and downs are caused by the natural El Nino and La Nina cycle. An El Nino cycle, the warming of part of the Pacific that changes the world's weather, adds even more heat to the already rising temperatures.

Scientists such as Vose say that most of the record warming the Earth is now seeing is from human-caused climate change, partly because this El Nino only started a few months ago and is still weak to moderate. It isn't expected to peak until winter, so scientists predict next year will be even hotter than this year.

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More favourable weather conditions have helped firefighters slow down the advance of a bushfire on La Palma in Spain's Canary Islands that has forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 residents, authorities say.

The blaze, which started on Saturday, has affected an area of about 4600 hectares and burned some 20 houses and buildings.

Authorities urged people not to go near the area on the northwest side of the island.

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Tourism Minister Héctor Gómez told reporters that thanks to the efforts to combat the blaze overnight, the outlook for bringing it under control had improved.

More than 300 firefighters have been deployed and nine water-carrying helicopters and two planes are being used to try to extinguish the fire.

A further 86 members of the army's Military Emergency Unit were flown to the island on Sunday.

The fire coincides with a heat wave that is hitting southern Europe.

Temperatures in the Canary Islands, located off the north-west coast of Africa, soared last week as Spain experienced a second summer heat wave.

The weather has cooled a little since Friday but the country is expected to suffer another heat wave this week.

READ MORE: Brothers charged after police officer hurt in Sydney CBD wedding brawl 

Vicente Rodríguez, mayor of Puntagorda town close to where the fire started, said Saturday that the area has seen below-average rainfall in recent years, just like large parts of the drought-stricken mainland Spain, because of changing weather patterns impacted by climate change.

The drought has left the wooded, hilly terrain tinder-dry.

The bushfire and evacuations come nearly two years after a three-month volcanic eruption caused devastation on La Palma.

While nobody was killed, about 3000 buildings were buried along with many banana plantations, roads and irrigation systems.

READ MORE: Man seriously injured in freak shooting accident at Perth gun range 

Spain saw record high temperatures in 2022 and this spring as it endures a prolonged drought.

Authorities and forestry experts are concerned that the conditions are ripe for a difficult wildfire campaign after seeing virulent fires as early as March.

READ MORE: Police siege under way in Brisbane 

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INZ says it will give time for the dad to appeal his case to the Immigration Minister