Eight skydivers jumped to safety just two minutes before their plane crashed Saturday on Australia's south coast, killing the pilot, who was the only person left on board. The skydivers had jumped from about 14,000 feet near Moruya airport in New South Wales just after 2pm Saturday, leaving veteran pilot and skydiving instructor Paul Smith at the controls. The 54-year-old was killed when the plane went down in dense bushland, per the Guardian. He was a highly respected and well-liked figure in the local community, said Detective Inspector Justin Marks, who described the death as "very tragic." Just last year, Smith was awarded the Australian Parachute Federation's highest award for his contributions to skydiving, per News.com.au.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief Angus Mitchell said investigators have not yet interviewed the skydivers, but other witnesses reported "unusual sounds and flight pattern" from the aircraft before it crashed. The single-engine Pilatus Porter plane, built around 1980, had undergone significant maintenance before being brought over from New Zealand about six weeks ago, according to Mitchell. "It had done a number of jumps over the past week and a half," he tells News.com.au. The agency is also assessing weather conditions at the time of the crash. It follows another plane crash that killed Smith's father-in-law, a respected flight instructor, also off Moruya, per 7News.
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