Crash survivor is going home
THE survivor of a Hobart air tragedy, which claimed the life of a veteran pilot, has been discharged from hospital.
Pilot John Osborne escaped serious injury when the helicopter he was travelling in crashed at Hobart airport on Tuesday.
The collision claimed the life of his experienced copilot and emergency service responder Roger Corbin.
The two men are believed to have been conducting training late in the afternoon when something went horribly wrong.
The single engine Squirrel helicopter, owned by Mr Corbin’s company RotorLift Aviation, nosedived from about 200m and crashed to the ground.
Mr Osborne was rushed to hospital after the crash and left yesterday when his condition, initially listed as serious, improved.
The 33-year-old is the managing director of Osborne Heli Tours, part of a family owned group established in the North-West 25 years ago.
The company operates adventure flights around Tasmania as well as providing commercial services, with bases at Port Arthur and Stanley.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators will interview Mr Osborne soon to try to piece together what happened.
Senior safety inspector David Grambauer said yesterday it was still too early to confirm what happened, including who was in charge of the helicopter at the time.
“What we currently know is the pilots were conducting some sort of training type manoeuvres,” he said.
“As the aircraft has approached the vicinity of the aerodrome and come in for a landing type manoeuvre ... they’ve lost control of the aircraft.”
The investigators will now examine the wreckage, as well as collecting information from the chopper’s GPS information and logged data from the onboard computer.
Officers have visited the crash site several times examining the “ground scars” and have obtained CCTV footage of the incident. Mr Grambauer described the Squirrel as a “fairly robust helicopter, it’s used throughout Australia and the world.”
Tasmania Police Inspector Natasha Freeman said the incident, while tragic, would not affect the delivery of emergency air services.
“[Mr Corbin] made a significant contribution to the emergency services response to the Tasmanian community, it is definitely a loss,” she said.
The Tasmania Fire Service paid tribute to Mr Corbin, who was heavily involved in aerial firefighting operations through Rotor-Lift.
“He was an outstanding person and pilot, leaving a lasting legacy with our aerial firefighting teams and everyone he worked with and mentored,” a spokesperson said.