The pilot of the doomed flight that crashed into a busy shopping centre and killed everyone on board has been remembered by his wife as a hero who gave his own life to save many others.
Max Quartermain, 63, was flying the Beechcraft charter plane when it plummeted from the sky and went up in flames north of Melbourne almost a year ago.
The fatal crash went down as Victoria’s worst civil aviation accident in 30 years.
Max Quartermain (pictured), the pilot of the doomed flight that crashed into a busy shopping centre and killed everyone on board, is being remembered as a hero
The 63-year-old was flying the doomed Beechcraft charter plane when it abruptly plummeted from the sky (pictured) and went up in flames north of Melbourne almost a year ago
The fatal crash went down as Victoria’s worst civil aviation accident in 30 years (pictured)
Mr Quartermain’s widow, Cilla, described her husband as a ‘true gentleman’ who did everything in his power to ‘rectify the problem’
Mr Quartermain’s widow, Cilla, described her husband as a ‘true gentleman’ who did everything in his power to ‘rectify the problem’.
‘If he would have ended up on the freeway, more people would’ve been killed,’ she told The Herald Sun.
‘As far as I am concerned, he is a hero, and he took his life on that day to save others.’
The seasoned pilot was flying American tourists, Russell Munsch, 62, Josh Washburn, 67, Greg DeHaven, 70, and Glenn Garland, to King Island, north of Tasmania, to play golf on February 21.
The men, who were successful entrepreneurs, lawyers and FBI agents, never made it to the island as the plane exploded into a fireball nine seconds into the flight.
Reports at the time said the four mates were on a ‘trip of a lifetime’ where they had played golf at New Zealand’s most expensive course, Tara Iti, before arriving in Australia.
King Island is a popular destination for golfers, with two of its courses ranked in the top two in Australia.
‘If he would have ended up on the freeway, more people would’ve been killed,’ she said
Greg De Haven, 70 (left), a retired FBI agent from Texas, was a passenger killed in the crash
Successful entrepreneur Glenn Garland (left), from Austin, Texas, was killed in the crash, as was his friend John Washburn (right), also from Austin
Russell Munsch, (left) a Texas lawyer and founding member of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr law firm, also died in the crash
‘As far as I am concerned, he is a hero, and he took his life on that day to save others,’ Ms Quartermain said
The men’s wives were travelling with them and had planned a day trip along the Great Ocean Road, about two-and-a-half hours away.
The plane was flying from Essendon Airport when it crashed into the popular factory outlet retail stores before 9am during peak hour chaos.
The pilot made seven mayday calls before crashing into the back of shops.
Retail workers described the scene like a ‘bomb exploded’ which shook the ground like nothing they had felt, or heard, before.
The plane was flying from Essendon Airport when it crashed into the popular factory outlet retail stores before 9am during peak hour chaos
Retail workers described the scene like a ‘bomb exploded’ which shook the ground like nothing they had felt, or heard, before
The 63-year-old’s widow said her husband was not a ‘rogue pilot’ but was instead ‘one of the best’ who ‘everyone wanted’
Thick, black billows of smoke were seen from the plane as ‘constant explosions’ shook the scene.
A flight Mr Quartermain was in charge of is being investigated for an ‘near collision’ with another plane that occurred in September 2015.
The 63-year-old’s widow told The Herald Sun her husband was not a ‘rogue pilot’ but was instead ‘one of the best’ who ‘everyone wanted’.
‘Passengers came first, no matter what. If the plane wasn’t right, he wouldn’t fly it,’ Ms Quartermain said.
The cause of the 2017 crash is still unknown with a final report expected in late May or early June.