Mr J. BULL (Sunbury) — I wish to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of flight school instructor Terry Otway and to the family and friends of the trainee pilot accompanying him, who both tragically died in a plane crash in Lancefield on Saturday. Terry was in his 70s, and he and his student at the Penfield Flight School were killed instantly when their Brumby aircraft plummeted into a paddock and burst into flames on Shannons Road.

I had the great privilege of meeting Terry when he and Captain Spencer Flint invited me up to Penfield Airport last year for a tour and a short flight over Sunbury. Terry was incredibly warm, generous and kind. Although this was our first meeting, Terry had a natural ease about him. He was extremely passionate about aviation.

Jarrod Bell, my electorate officer, recently began training at Penfield in the hope of getting his pilot’s licence.

Terry had years of flying experience. He had clocked up more than 19 000 hours over 50 years of flying, which included a long commercial aviation career. Terry would often be seen wearing his Ansett badges in a show of great passion and dedication to the aviation industry. He was pedantic about safety and pre-flight inspections. Captain Spencer Flint was quoted as saying:

He had been a professional all his life and had the attitude that it didn’t matter whether you are flying a two-seater or carrying 280 passengers — you had to go into any flight with a stringent planning.

It is thought that the plane lost control at around 11.30 on Saturday morning whilst heading towards local homes. It is incredibly sad, and I express my condolences to Terry’s family and friends.