Experienced pilot killed in Mangalore lost son in plane crash

Anthony Gobel was married just weeks before he died in the December 2005 crash and was the president of the Bendigo Flying Club, where a scholarship has since been set up to support young, aspiring pilots.

Chris Gobel ran Bendigo Aviation Services for many years before he sold it to Moorabbin Aviation Services several years ago. He was planning to retire within a couple of months.

"It's a double tragedy, I just don't know how the family will cope. It's so horrible it's happened," said Mr Gobel's friend and colleague Linda Beilharz.

She said Mr Gobel was a flight examiner for CASA and used to be an airline pilot.

"He's had a long time in the air in different roles," she said. "He was a hard taskmaster, when learning to fly, you had to do it right, he would let you know. He had a wicked sense of humour ... he was totally respected for that.

"And he was just so experienced, which is one of the shocking things. We see him as being someone who knew so much and experienced so much and was really careful and methodical and so on. It's just surprising."

Mr Gobel was in the light plane with a 27-year-old woman from West Melbourne when it crashed, soon after taking off from Mangalore airport. Her name has not yet been released.

'Everybody that met him, loved him'

Ido "Dodo" Segev lived and breathed flying. Just two weeks ago, he quipped on Facebook that he saw it as "cheaper than a psychologist". Even his car number plate was "FLY IDO".

But on Wednesday, the 30-year-old Israeli-Australian national was killed during a training exercise when two light aircraft collided mid-air at Mangalore, north of Melbourne, leaving him and three others dead.

At the time of the crash, Mr Segev was learning new skills from fellow pilot Peter Phillips, 47, from Seaford, who has been remembered as a "lovely, calm" colleague and father.

Mr Segev, from Cheltenham, was an expert model plane pilot who also had a commercial pilot's licence. But it would be wrong to say Mr Segev died doing what he loved, according to old friend Andrew Sill.

"People say, 'he died doing what he loved'. No he didn't, he didn't want to crash. He died doing what he planned on never doing," Mr Sill said.

"He would have fought it all the way to the ground."

Mr Segev was born into an aviation family in Israel and went on to become one of the world's best freestyle aerobatic radio controlled pilots. He won the prestigious European Extreme Flight Championship in 2011.

Mr Sill said that's when he moved to Australia, to keep learning from the best, and he was training to add more to his long list of achievements on Wednesday when he was killed in the accident.

Mr Segev was working towards getting his instrument rating, to fly under any conditions. He was no "chump", Mr Sill said, describing Mr Segev as a methodical and accomplished flyer, having flown about 1000 hours.

"He was a very loving man, everybody that met him loved him. I know that people say that when people die, but this guy was amazing to everybody."

Mr Segev was living with his girlfriend of three or four years in Melbourne. His brother had also moved over to Australia a few years ago.

Jack Vevers, the president of the Peninsula Aero Club, said Mr Segev and Mr Phillips were both much-loved members of their tight-knit community.

Mr Segev was a member of the club for 10 years and was a "very experienced" flying instructor and pilot.

"He was absolutely charming and he just loved and lived for aviation ... he had travelled the world and was also a drone pilot and private pilot, he did it all," Mr Vevers said.

"Peter had grown up in the club as a young man, flying here before he had a career flying in the airlines."

Mr Phillips returned to the club to become the chief flying instructor.

"He was a lovely fellow. He was incredibly calm, methodical, professional, he was meticulous in everything he did and he was just a great mentor. Everyone loved flying with him ... he had that ability to teach people and bring them along and make them enthusiastic and make everyone a better pilot," Mr Vevers said.

The club is now in mourning and has suspended all flying operations, he said.

"And the 600 members, they all knew both these guys pretty well. It's that personal level, not just members or people working here, these are our friends.

"I'd also like to acknowledge the loss of the other two pilots. This is a small fraternity and our hearts go out to both families for their losses."

In a statement, the Bendigo Flying Club remembered Mr Gobel as a "key aviation figure in Bendigo".

"Chris was about to retire after a long aviation career with airline captain, flying school, charter and pilot examiner roles."

Club members will gather on Friday night to remember him.

Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were at the crash site on Thursday.

The two planes were believed to be moving through cloud when they collided about 11.30am at an altitude of about 4000 feet.

One plane, a Beechcraft Travel Air aircraft and operated by the Peninsula Aero Club, was flown by Mr Segev and had taken off from Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula. It continued flying north after the collision for about two kilometres before slamming into the ground near Lambing Gully Road in Avenel.

Mr Segev's plane was heading towards Mangalore Airport. Authorities say they believe the plane was either planning on landing, or performing a practice approach without actually touching the tarmac.

Mr Gobel's plane, which took off from Mangalore Airport, had been flying for about three minutes and was gaining height when the collision happened. It hit the ground within seconds near Seymour-Avenel Road just south of the airport.