Airport crash funeral

Salute for aviation pioneer

THE funeral for Tasmanian aviation stalwart and emergency service responder Roger Corbin will be held at the Hobart Regatta Grounds.

The veteran pilot was killed when his helicopter nosedived from 200m at Hobart airport on Tuesday.

Co-pilot John Osborne miraculously survived and was released from the Royal Hobart Hospital on Thursday.

His company yesterday released a statement describing Mr Corbin as one of Tasmania’s “aviation greats” and a pilot for which it had the “utmost respect”.

“The Tasmanian aviation industry is a small, tight-knit community, with our company and the Tasmanian industry reeling from this loss,” the Osborne Aviation statement said.

“We extend our deepest sympathy to Mr Corbin’s family, friends and colleagues.

“It is bittersweet to report that Mr Osborne is recovering well and has now been discharged from hospital. He is pleased to be home.”

The cause of the crash and who was in control of the aircraft at the time are still un- known as investigators work to piece together what happened.

At the time of the crash, Mr Osborne was receiving flight training from Mr Corbin on a Squirrel AS350 helicopter.

The helicopter was owned by Mr Corbin’s company Rotor-Lift, which has been providing search and rescue operations and medical evacuations for police and the State Government since 2000.

This week Premier Will Hodgman described his death as a devastating blow for Tasmania.

“[He was] a well-loved character, a remarkable contributor to Tasmania in providing support through his choppers to communities in distress … a really important part of the Tasmanian story,” Mr Hodgman said.

Mr Corbin, who is survived by wife Allana and their three daughters, will have his funeral service at the regatta grounds on Tuesday at noon.