Rainer Huefner was killed when his plane crashed at Goolwa.
Picture: Supplied
Friends of an Adelaide pilot and father killed in a crash have remembered him as a "meticulous" flyer with a "happy-go-lucky" nature.
Rainer Huefner had been practicing aerobatics on Friday when his single-seater plane came down in a paddock near the Goolwa Airport, south of Adelaide.
An off-duty ambulance officer who saw the crash tried to revive Mr Huefner, but he died at the scene.
Police said his two teenage children were at the airport but did not see the crash.
Mr Rainer started flying at the age of 16 and had spent five years and around 4,500 hours building his DR-107 aerobatic plane that he used in displays around Australia.
Aerobatics pilot Tony Schwerdt knew Mr Huefner for about 25 years.
"He was a very conscientious guy, very meticulous. He had a happy-go-lucky nature," Mr Schwerdt said.
"In terms of the type of flying he was doing - he was doing an air show sequence, not for aerobatic competition - he was practicing and something went wrong."
The airport's owner, Geoff Eastwood, said Mr Huefner was an experienced pilot who liked to put on a good performance.
"When you're doing that you're on the edge and it doesn't take much to go wrong," Mr Eastwood said.
"We don't know exactly what happened, but he ran out of room and hit the ground."
Two investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau have traveled from Canberra to look into the cause of accident.
- Source ► https://au.news.yahoo.com
Aviation safety investigation report
Collision with terrain involving amateur built aircraft, VH-EGT, South of Goolwa Airfield SA on 10 October 2014
Investigation number: AO-2014-163
Investigation status: Active
Investigation in progress
Summary: The ATSB is investigating a fatal accident involving an amateur built aircraft that collided with terrain south of Goolwa, South Australia on 10 October 2014. One person on board the aircraft was fatally injured as a result of the accident.
The ATSB has deployed two investigators to the accident site. The investigators have specializations in aircraft operations and engineering. They are expected to arrive on site Saturday morning (11 October 2014).
While on site the investigators will examine the aircraft accident site and wreckage, and interview witnesses.
Witnesses are asked to call the ATSB on 1800 020 616.
http://www.atsb.gov.au
AUSTRALIA’S most decorated aerobatic pilot has paid tribute to Rainer Huefner, killed in a plane crash at Goolwa, as a skilled and dedicated pilot whose death will be a great loss.
Mr Huefner, who was killed when his DR-107 single-seater plane crashed while he was rehearsing at Goolwa on Friday, was to fly with 13-time national aerobatic champion Chris Sperou at the opening of the upgraded Clare Valley Aerodrome on November 1.
Mr Sperou has remembered Mr Huefner, 50, of Hazelwood Park, as a man whose passion for aerobatics was unrivalled.
“Since he was 16, he had this ambition to fly,” Mr Sperou said.
“His ambition was to perform aerobatics. He was that way inclined.”
Mr Sperou, who had known Mr Huefner for about 10 years, said he was saddened to hear of his friend’s death.
He has vowed to dedicate his flight at the Clare Valley Aerodrome to Mr Huefner.
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