UPDATE: IDENTITY OF PILOT IN HUNTER CRASH REVEALED
Hunter businessman, Gerard Beiboer, has been identified as the pilot who lost his life in a light plane crash in the Hunter.
Emergency services were called to Sawyers Gully near Cessnock late yesterday afternoon, when they found the Pitts aerobatic aircraft well alight.
Fire fighters extinguished the flames, before Mr Beiboer’s body was found inside.
No-one else was injured in the crash.
Witnesses have told authorities they saw the plane spiral into dense bushland, followed by plumes of smoke.
Organiser of the Hunter Valley Air Show, Paul Bennett, has told NBN News that Mr Beiboer loved flying and had a close relationship with the Royal Newcastle Aero Club at Rutherford.
Investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are expected to arrive later today.
A photo of the plane involved in the crash.
