The mystery of One Nation's missing first aircraft has been solved: the plane was sold to a private pilot and is now locked in a hangar in far-western New South Wales, an ABC investigation has confirmed.
One Nation’s national director James Ashby has indicated he received the proceeds from the sale of the plane.
The discovery of the Jabiru 230D, tail number 24-8637, at Broken Hill, about 1,000km west of Sydney, is likely to trigger more questions for the party about the handling of proceeds from the sale of the aircraft.
In September, One Nation declined to answer questions from the Sydney Morning Herald about the location of the plane and if it had been sold.
Yesterday, when the ABC contacted Mr Ashby via text to ask how the plane ended up in Broken Hill, he confirmed he had sold it to a NSW pilot.
He also said he had phoned Victorian businessman Bill McNee, who gave him the money to buy the plane, to seek his permission for the sale.
Asked if he, Mr Ashby, had received the funds from the sale, he texted back a thumbs up. He did not respond to a text asking how much it sold for.
Aircraft sales websites recently listed several J230s for sale at prices ranging from about $80,000 to just over…
