Skydiving instructor Paul Smith died in a plane crash near Moruya on the Far South Coast. Photo: Supplied.
The pilot who died in a weekend plane crash has been identified as “a very well-liked local resident”, Paul Smith.
A NSW Police spokesperson previously said that emergency services were called to bushland west of George Bass Drive in Moruya (about 2 km north of Moruya Airport) just after 2 pm on Saturday (27 September).
Officers from South Coast Police District attended the scene and found a plane, used by a skydiving business, had crashed.
On Sunday (28 September), Detective Inspector Justin Marks said eight skydivers had jumped, just a few minutes before the crash.
The plane had climbed to 14,000 feet, so the skydivers could carry out their jump, before the aircraft crashed on its way back to Moruya Airport.
“The aircraft has come to rest in thick bushland adjacent to George Bass Drive.
“The wing from the aircraft initially had come to rest on George Bass Drive itself, which is also forming part of the inquiries in relation to the investigation.”
Mr Smith, a 54-year-old man and the only person on board, died at the scene.
Detective Inspector Marks also said Mr Smith had more than 20 years of flying experience and had been involved in more than 20,000 supervised jumps.
“He was a very well-respected, very well-experienced and very well-liked local resident. … [Mr Smith was] well-regarded throughout the community.”
All the skydivers landed safely.
In a December 2024 blog post, the Australian Parachute Federation awarded Mr Smith the Master of Sport Parachuting, the organisation’s highest award.
At the time, it stated that he began skydiving at 16, quickly becoming an instructor and a competitive skydiver.
He would also compete internationally in Russia, the United States and Turkey, before going on to work as a test jumper and opening his own training facilities in Trangie and Moruya (with the latter eventually becoming SKYONE Moruya Heads).
On Sunday, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said investigators had started to process the site and gather evidence.
Witness reports of “unusual sounds and flight patterns” would be part of their investigation.
Mr Mitchell said the aircraft involved had only been in the country for about six weeks. Investigators from Canberra and Brisbane will investigate its maintenance history, the flight path and weather conditions.
“It was built around 1980 in Switzerland … It was only recently purchased and brought over.
“We do know that there was a fairly substantive maintenance check that was done before bringing across to Australia.
“[When] we actually start to process the site … that’ll give us an idea around what lies behind this and whether there are similarities with any of the other incidents we’ve seen,” Mr Mitchell said, referring to a crash in late July that killed 74-year-old Bega man David Stephens when his plane crashed in the Snowy Mountains, and a small recreational aircraft crash in Budawang National Park earlier this month.
“We do know they’re all different, and they all present unique challenges for us to understand not only what occurred, but most importantly, what we can do to make things safer into the future.”
Mr Mitchell said the ATSB had already spoken with several people, but encouraged others to come forward.
A preliminary report is expected to be released within the next two months, before a final report into the incident is prepared.
“We do know, and I will certainly say, that today is a very sad day for the Australian skydiving community,” he said.
“The pilot involved here was very well-known throughout the country, very experienced … a very experienced skydiver as well as a very experienced pilot.”
Both the NSW Police and the ATSB have requested that anyone with information contact them.
The ATSB is asking for anyone with video footage of the aircraft (at any phase of the flight) or in the immediate aftermath of the accident to come forward through ATSB Witness Reporting.
An investigation into the circumstances of the incident has commenced, and anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
