Two of the three casualties from a small plane crash in the southwest of Sydney have been identified: a 60-year-old man and an off-duty Qantas captain.
One of the two men on the Cessna 182 that departed Cessnock yesterday for Shellharbour Airport was 72-year-old grandpa Gary Criddle, affectionately known as Gaz by his loved ones.
The other plane, a Jabiru taking off from The Oaks, crashed midair, killing 60-year-old Khadiervali Gagguturu.
Criddle reportedly flew for Qantas for 36 years, according to his family.
According to his relatives, he was a member of the show team The Roulettes for twenty years while serving in the Navy and Air Force. We are speechless and inconsolable over this terrible loss.
Gary, who was known as Gaz by his family, was a cherished husband, father, grandfather, and pilot, according to a statement released by his loved ones.
As a world-traveling adventurer and guide to many aspiring pilots, he lived life to the fullest.
Gaz radiated joy, humor, and kindness. He will be sorely missed and his loss is immense.
“Captain Gary Criddle was a highly respected and loved member of the Qantas flying community,” stated Tobiano.
According to his son Jeff, “I just want the world to know the amazing man he was.”
Collided with another light plane over Belimbla Park in the Macarthur district yesterday at lunchtime as the 72-year-old was coaching a 29-year-old pilot in a Cessna traveling from the Hunter to Wollongong.
In addition to Gary and his pilot, 60-year-old Khadiervali Gagguturu, who had taken off from a neighboring airstrip at The Oaks, also perished in the crash.
Today, the inquiry was taken up by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau [ATSB].
The histories of both planes are being investigated by the ATSB.
There was a crash in 2022 involving a Jabiru that was identical to Gagguturu’s plane in terms of model and serial number.
The bureau is exploring “anything that can give a better idea of what has occurred, the altitudes they were at, types of speeds at the time,” according to chief commissioner Angus Mitchell.
“This is known as ‘glass-g’ or non controlled airspace, so it’s very much up to the pilots in a “see and avoid” principle,” he said.
Seven such incidents have occurred in Australia’s airspace in the last five years.
