Reg Thaggard, gyocopter pilot, was killed when his plane crashed in the Kinglake National Park. Photo: Facebook
An 18-year-old Singaporean student was the second person killed in a gyrocopter crash in Kinglake National Park on Saturday evening, along with 51-year-old Croydon pilot Reg Thaggard.
Mr Thaggard, founder of Yarra Valley Microlights and Yarra Valley Flightsports, was well regarded as an expert pilot of microlight aircraft. The teenager is believed to have been his passenger.
Yarra Valley Conference Centre general manager Louise Ward said Mr Thaggard was a 'very accomplished pilot' and that 'it was a very unusual thing to have happened ... I mean, I would send my kids flying with him'.
Ms Ward said Mr Thaggard, a married father of three, would often rent space at the centre and take off from there.
A Facebook post shows a beaming Mr Thaggard holding up his pilot licence with an 'unrestricted gyrocopter instructor rating'.
Southern Microlight Club president Chris Bullen said he could not imagine there was 'any pilot error at all' in the crash, due to Mr Thaggard's expertise as a pilot.
'It was obviously something mechanical, but we'll just have to wait and see what the investigators have to say,' Mr Bullen told Fairfax Media.
Mr Thaggard, who had been flying microlights for more than 15 years, was a club member for about six years.
'Apart from being an excellent club member and a bit of a mentor to people in the club as far as flying was concerned, he was just an all-round nice guy who would help anybody, and bend over backwards to help,' Mr Bullen said.
Mr Bullen said a gyrocopter had blades like a helicopter, but they were not powered. 'What makes them spin is the motor behind you that's pushing you along, and that's what makes them spin and gives you a lift.'
Acting Senior Sergeant Colin Anderson said police were called to the scene of the crash at 7.20pm on Saturday.
Because the crash happened in a remote and densely vegetated area, police would need SES crews to help retrieve the bodies.
'It's a tragedy for all concerned,' he said.
Police have launched an investigation into the crash, and will prepare a report for the Coroner. Aviation experts will also view the crash site.
There have been at least two other crashes involving gyrocopters in Australia this year. In September, a gyrocopter was hit by a wallaby during takeoff in Townsville and crashed into a fence. The aircraft was significantly damaged but the pilot escaped unharmed. In another Queensland incident, a 30-year-old pilot was left fighting for his life after his gyrocopter clipped power lines and crashed into a field.
Two people were killed in January 2012 near Seymour in Victoria when their gyrocopter crashed on landing. In June 2012 a 71-year-old man pulled himself out of his sinking gyrocopter after it crashed onto a muddy Phillip Island beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment