18 Mar 2004

PNG police charge man for murder of Australian pilot

4:42 pm on 18 March 2004

Papua New Guinea police have charged a man with last Sunday's murder of Australian pilot Alan Mourilyan.

He was shot dead in Mount Hagen shortly after piloting an Airlines PNG flight from Cairns.

Three men demanded cash from him, then one drew a pistol and shot him at close range.

Police arrested the alleged gunman soon after the shooting, but the other men escaped.

Police say for security reasons they are not releasing any details of the charged man.