from The West Australian:
CELEBRATED aviation operator Kerry Slingsby lost pilot and stepson Kim Rankin in a helicopter crash that killed four people north of Kununurra in the Kimberley.
Mr Rankin, 26, knew his Robinson 44 aircraft was in trouble moments before it plunged to the ground and burst into flames in remote bush on Saturday morning.
The disaster was the culmination of a fishing trip that took two parties of local people in two helicopters to Cape Domett in the Cambridge Gulf.
It is understood that moments before the impact Mr Rankin radioed words to the effect: "I am going to hit hard."
Occupants of the second helicopter saw him come down on Carlton Hill cattle station owned by media mogul Kerry Packer's Consolidated Pastoral Company.
Pilot Kim Rankin was the son of Dusty Rankin, who is understood to have died in 1985 when training another pilot in a Bell 47, the type of aircraft made famous in the MASH television series.
His widow, Pat, later married Mr Slingsby, who runs WA's biggest private aviation business, Slingair Heliwork WA, with a fleet of 50 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He has won numerous tourism awards.
Two air safety investigators flew to the crash scene yesterday and will work closely with police assisting the coroner to determine reasons for the disaster.
They hope to drive out today to examine wreckage situated about 35km north-west of Kununurra. Bad weather may delay inspection.
Police have not formally released names of the dead because the charred remains could not yet be identified. The bodies were recovered from the station yesterday.
Sgt Rod Boehn, of Kununurra police, said the town was shocked by the deaths of four locals. Three of them aged 21 to 62 were understood to work for the Ord River District Cooperative.
"It's going to take some time for the people of this town to get over it," he said. "They were very well known, very popular people."
It is understood one of the pilots was concerned about not being able to return to Kununurra because of thunderstorms.
An experienced pilot said helicopters could get caught in a downwash in a thunderstorm and forced to the ground.
Alan Stray, deputy director of air safety investigation for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, expected the engine and other components would be removed for examination.
It was not known if the engine was running at the time of the crash.
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