TOOWOOMBA based beef industry identity John Quintana and Charlie Maher, the head of Ray White's livestock business have been killed in a plane crash this morning.
The two men were in a single engine Cessna 210 which crashed 2km from Roma Airport at about 5.30am this morning (Monday).
Mr Maher, 48, from Bathurst, NSW, was recently appointed as the chief executive officer of Ray White Livestock for Australia. He was previous the head of Ray White Livestock for NSW.
Ray White principal Paul White said Mr Maher was an integral part of the Ray White business.
"He was just such a wonderful man," Mr White said. "This has been a big jolt to us all... a very sad day."
US born Mr Quintana was a major figure in the Northern Territory live export industry before making major investments of the Darling Downs and at Roma.
According to reports it took rescue workers hours to get inside the mangled wreckage.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported two people died in the crash.
An ATSB team has been dispatched to Roma to investigate the crash.