Two brothers among three people killed in small plane crash at Tinamba West

Two of the three young people killed in a horror plane crash have been identified as brothers.

The two brothers, aged 20 and 16, and a 15-year-old local male were onboard a small plane that smashed into a paddock and burst into flames in Victoria’s Gippsland region on Saturday.

The brothers were from the Goulburn Valley town of Tongala while the 15-year-old was from Tinamba.

All three victims were related.

The plane was seen circling for about 15 minutes before it crashed into the paddock near Heyfield-Upper Maffra Rd, in Tinamba West.

The plane was flown by a 20-year-old licenced pilot. 

Flight Envelope and Edge Aviation consultant Lorraine MacGillivray described the crash as a ‘tragic accident’ and said the family were ‘broken’ and ‘in a lot of pain’.

‘We’re in a state in the industry at the moment where we are looking at training, we’re looking at maintenance, we’re looking at particularly loss-of-control flight accidents,’ she said, the Herald Sun reported.

‘It’s up to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to conduct the investigation, so I cannot pre-empt any cause for this accident.

‘I have some ideas – they could possibly be premature – we’ve got a situation where in Australia at the moment the ATSB can be selective on the accidents they investigate – I’m very happy they are investigating this accident.’

More to come. 

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