The heartbroken parents of a ‘admired’ and ‘respected’ pilot have paid tribute to their son who was one of two victims who lost their lives when a plane crashed into a hangar in Adelaide just 30 seconds after take off
The heartbroken family of a pilot who died in a plane crash in Adelaide have paid tribute to their “admired” son.
Robert Hoyle was one of the two people who died in the incident at Parafield Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Robert was the flight instructor who was killed alongside a 24-year-old student pilot after the Diamond DA42light plane they were travelling in crashed into the airport’s hangar just before 2:11pm.
His parents shared that the 29-year-old had dreamed of being a pilot since eight-years-old and was nicknamed ‘Goose’ by his students after the fictional aviator in Top Gun.
Robert’s parents told 7News: “Robert was a commercial pilot for more than a decade.
“He was respected and admired by his peers and students.”
They paid tribute to their son adding that he had recently found the love of his life .
It is understood that Hoyle worked for Flight Training Adelaide.
As well as the two dead, 10 others were injured in the incident.
Two people were left in a serious condition, with a 55-year-old man sustaining life-threatening injuries, including burns to 80 per cent of his body.
When the plane collided with the hangar, a huge fire was ignited, with black smoke filling the sky.
50 firefighters rushed to the scene of the blaze and more than 100 students and staff were evacuated from the airport.
Chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Angus Mitchell said he understood the flight lasted less than 30 seconds before it nose dived into the hangar.
He described the scene as “horrific” as crews begin combing through the wreckage.
“Very soon after take-off, it has pulled very sharply to the left, and it’s continued all the way around about 180 degrees, not very high off the ground, not in the air for very long, and it’s impacted the building.
“It will be quite a job for us today as we start to pick through that scene to really understand what’s gone wrong so early in what we know is a training flight.
“The extent of damage was very extensive. And that post-impact fire will have done a lot of damage to the aircraft itself as well and to anything that’s on board.”
