A New Zealander has been killed while learning to fly a gyroplane in high winds in Australia.
Robert
William Brockbank, 67, and his instructor Sam La Bruna died when their
light aircraft crashed in a paddock after taking off from Mangalore
Airport, 120km north of Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
The crash
wasn't witnessed but a passer-by noticed a pile of debris several hours
after the gyroplane's morning take-off from a nearby airstrip.
Both men were dead when paramedics arrived at the scene.
Australian
Sports Rotorcraft Association secretary Hunter Jones told the New
Zealand Herald a crash investigation was under way, adding he knew Mr La
Bruna to be an instructor who was "meticulous in everything he did".
"Sam was very experienced and so it came as a huge shock to the Australian gyro industry," Mr Jones said.
A
death notice published in the newspaper on Tuesday said Mr Brockbank
"lived a full and adventurous life and died while embarking
enthusiastically on a new found passion."
"Sadly missed. RIP."
A
student waiting for a lesson told a Melbourne newspaper he thought
"very windy" conditions could be a factor in the crash, but one expert
argued this was when gyroplanes were at their safest.
NZN