Anthony Liddell, 50, (pictured), described by friends as a ‘really good bloke’, was the sole occupant and was located deceased in his aircraft after the crash
The pilot who died when his plane crashed over a suburban street, tearing down power lines before it caught fire in seven-metre high flames, has been revealed to be a father-of-two and a community volunteer.
Anthony Liddell, 50, from Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula, has been praised for steering the light plane away from the houses below and onto the middle of the road.
The respected pilot, described by friends as a ‘really good bloke’, was the sole occupant and was located deceased in his aircraft just after 5pm in Mordialloc, in Melbourne’s south-east, on Friday.
The cause of the crash remains unknown and an investigation is underway.
Mr Liddell (pictured) has been praised for steering his plane away from houses and onto the middle of the road before it crashed over a Melbourne suburban street
A plane crashed over a suburban Melbourne street, tearing down power lines before it caught fire in seven-metre high flames (pictured)
‘He was highly skilled and would have done this hundreds of times before — he knew what he was doing,’ a close friend of the pilot told The Herald Sun.
Ralph Guerry, a fellow pilot and friend, described Mr Liddell as a ‘meticulous’ and experienced pilot who was familiar with the area and a ‘true gentlemen of aviation.’
‘You could not wish for a nicer guy. I just can’t believe he is gone,’ he said.
Friends and family laid flowers at the crash site to pay their tributes.
CAE Oxford Aviation Academy general manager Michael Drinkall confirmed the crash happened during a routine maintenance check flight, the Herald Sun reported.
He also added that CAE had grounded its planes for the weekend.
The pilot, described by friends as a ‘really good bloke’, was the sole occupant and was located deceased in his aircraft just after 5pm in Mordialloc, in Melbourne’s south-east, on Friday
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau sent investigators to the site who will stay for several days and possibly take sections of the aircraft to a different facility for further inspection
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has sent investigators to Scarlet Street who will stay on-site for several days and possibly take sections of the aircraft to a different facility for further inspection.
ATSB executive director Nat Nagy declined to speculate on exactly what happened in the lead-up to the crash, and said ‘at this stage it’s too early to know exactly what happened.’
‘We can confirm that when the aircraft was on approach to land … it made a turn prior to colliding with the ground, destroying the aircraft,’ he said.
Suggestions that Mr Liddell may have been trying to land at a nearby oval were just speculation and there was no indication of engine failure at this stage, Mr Nagy said.
Weather and flying conditions had been deemed safe and ‘fine’.
Investigators will conduct an examination of the aircraft wreckage, components and parts, attempt to recover in-air data and air traffic control recordings, interview witnesses and look at maintenance records of the aircraft and the pilot’s records to to determine what caused the crash.
It is unclear why the plane caught fire and as no flight recorder was on board, any in-flight distress may not have been captured by the black box
It is unclear why the plane caught fire and as no flight recorder was on board, any in-flight distress may not have been captured by the black box.
Flight tracking details show the plane took off at 4:06pm from Moorabbin Airport and its crash landing happened at 5.13pm, after it had done a near loop.
Brian Colbey, a resident of the street of the crash, told the Herald Sun he had ‘been waiting for this to happen for 30 years’ and other residents wanted the nearby Moorabbin airport to go.
David Trotter who also lives just metres from the crash site said ‘there are a lot of beginner pilots learning there and that needs to be restricted.’
‘When they built that airport, there were no homes here,’ he said.
In 2010, a four-seater plane clipped a roof in the same suburb and brought down powerlines before landing in a backyard.
The plane’s operator, Oxford Aviation Academy, declined to comment on Friday, AAP reported.
‘He was highly skilled and would have done this hundreds of times before — he knew what he was doing,’ a close friend of the pilot told The Herald Sun