Southern Highlands helicopter crash: Moira Shire councillor Andrew Goldman killed

A respected local councillor and businessman on a training flight was one of the victims of a Southern Highlands helicopter crash.

A respected local councillor and businessman has been identified as one of the victims of a fatal helicopter crash in the NSW Southern Highlands on Wednesday night.

Moira Shire councillor Andrew Goldman, 54, and the 36-year-old pilot were training when the helicopter went down, killing them both.

Emergency services were called in to search for the men about 6.45pm on Wednesday and spent the night searching before finding the helicopter wreckage near Tallong, east of Goulburn just after midnight.

Andrew Goldman.

A spokesperson from Moira Shire Council, in Victoria, said staff were devastated to learn of the death Mr Goldman, who owned a civil construction company.

“Cr Goldman was elected as a councillor for the 2020-24 term and was looking forward to contributing to the improvement and growth of our shire,” the spokesperson said.

“On behalf of councillors and staff we extend our thoughts to his family at this difficult time.

“He will be greatly missed.”

The victims took off from an airfield in Goulburn and police are investigating if poor weather played a role in the crash.

“At about 12.30am this morning police from the Goulburn rescue squad identified the wreckage of a helicopter and unfortunately two bodies were located near the crash site,” Detective Chief Inspector Brendan Burnie said.

“It was a training flight, a 36-year-old instructor was training a 54-year-old learner pilot.

“The circumstances around the crash are still being investigated, it’s just too early to even hypothesise at this stage.”

Emergency crews searching bushland after the crash. Picture: 9News

Emergency services searched dense bushland to locate the wreckage. Picture: Google Earth

“It took police several hours last night to find the crash site due to the remoteness of the location and the terrain,” he said.

The crash was one of several involving aircraft in NSW this year.

In July a helicopter belonging to a Griffith-based aerial agricultural company crashed after hitting power lines on a remote location on the property, 35km northeast of Conargo, leaving the pilot in a critical condition.

In January, three US residents who travelled to Australia to help fight the bushfires died after their water bombing aircraft crashed while working on bushfires in the Snowy Monaro.

The aircraft lost contact with ground crews and dropped off flight radars at 1.30pm.

It was reported that there were strong winds involved with the crash.

Originally published as Southern Highlands helicopter crash: Moira Shire councillor Andrew Goldman killed