Bauer, Rigney are among 9 in plane crash on Australian island

Horse owner Richard Rigney, his trainer Philip Bauer and bloodstock advisor John Moynihan were among vacationers on a light plane that crashed in Australia Monday, with no serious injuries reported.

“We are so lucky to walk away from that,” Bauer told Horse Racing Nation in a text message Monday. He declined to discuss the accident further.

“We all made it and are safe,” Moynihan told Thoroughbred Daily News in a text message.

HRN learned that Rigney, for whom Bauer is a private trainer, also was aboard the flight. The trio reportedly were in Australia for Inglis's Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale that began Tuesday.

Rigney is an avid traveler who often names his horses after favorite destinations such as Angkor, a temple in Cambodia, and Xigera, a safari in Botswana. 

9News Australia reported that nine tourists from Kentucky and a local pilot were aboard the Cessna light plane. The plane had left Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef when it apparently had engine problems. It returned to Lizard Island and flipped over after clipping trees while attempting to land.

Two rescue helicopters and a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane assisted, according to the 9News report. An RFDS nurse said the passengers, who included a 14-year-old girl, had minor head injuries and a fractured arm, but otherwise were OK.

The group were flown to Cairns Hospital in Queensland, with some shown being transported in wheelchairs and others walking on their own.