I was saddened to read about the deaths of two pilots who died in two separate crashes in New South Wales, Australia within a day of each other. Both were flying in support of wildland firefighters fighting the wildland fires in New South Wales.
David Black, owner and chief pilot of Rebel Ag, died on Thursday Oct. 24 when his PZL M18A Dromader aircraft crashed while he was performing aerial wildland firefighting operations on a wildland fire in a remote and rugged section of New South Wales. He leaves a wife, Julie and three children. A press release issued on behalf of Rebel Ag may be found on this webpage of the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Peter Brereton, a pilot, had just retired from a 40-year career with the CFA firefighting agency in Australia. However, when his help was needed to support the wildland firefighters in New South Wales, he was there. He was flying a Cessna 182 on Wednesday morning Oct. 23 after dropping off some spare parts for a helo that was being used in aerial operations on the bush fires in New South Wales. When he failed to return to the airport on Wednesday morning, a search ensued and the wreckage was found Thursday morning in rugged terrain. For more on Peter Brereton, read this article from The Age (out of Victoria AU. Brereton, 60, is survived by his wife, Lyn and five children.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends, colleagues and all who love Peter and David. May Peter and David always fly in favorable tail winds.
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