Col Pay Feared Dead
From News.com
AN agricultural pilot with more than 50 years' experience is feared dead after a light aircraft crashed into a lake in the NSW Hunter region.
Police said a man in his 70s was missing after the plane went down at Lake Liddell, northwest of Singleton, at 9.40am (AEDT) today. The plane was believed to have crashed while being filmed for promotional reasons.
Scone Aero Club president Neville Partridge said the pilot of the plane was Col Pay, a water bomber pilot and crop-duster from Scone.
He had more than half a century of flying experience, Mr Partridge said.
"Without doubt, he was one of the most experienced pilots," he said.
"He was flying an agricultural-type plane when it happened."
Police divers search the lake today.
There was initial confusion over how many people were on board the plane when it crashed, with ambulance services saying earlier that two passengers had swum ashore.
But a spokeswoman for Pay's Air Service later said Mr Pay was the only person in the plane.
She was unable to say what work Mr Pay was carrying out at the time.
An Air Services Australia (ASA) spokeswoman said the plane, a fire-bomber Air Tractor model AT 8T usually used for water bombing, was licensed to carry two people.
Pay's Air Service carries out fire-spotting and bushfire water-bombing out of Scone and Moree, according to the company website.
Chief executive of the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia, Phil Hurst, said he understood the aircraft involved in the crash was a two-seater, but he was unsure how many people were aboard.
Lets hope he is OK. One hell of a legend in Australia