Gympie Aero Club, pilots mourn death of Jennifer Beck

A Queensland pilot who taught hundreds of men and women how to fly has died, leaving behind a historic legacy that ended a six-year anti-discrimination case against a fellow aviator.

Gympie’s aviation community is mourning the death of Jennifer Beck, a former senior flying instructor and liaison officer for the Gympie airport with Gympie Regional Council, who died aged 74. Pic Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

Gympie’s aviation community is mourning the death of an “inspirational” pilot and former flying instructor who made headlines after winning a six-year-long anti-discrimination case.

Jennifer Beck had been a member of the Gympie Aero Club since 1993 and had trained pilots at the Kybong aerodrome since 2004.

It was this same year she transitioned.

Ms Beck made headlines in 2016 when she launched a sexual harassment and vilification case against another member of the club over a series of emails he sent out about her.

They denigrated her right to use the female toilets and called her a man.

She won the case in 2021 after an appeal was rejected and was paid $19,000 in compensation, the maximum allowed under the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act.

Along with working as an instructor, Ms Beck served in roles including regional safety officer and the facility’s liaison officer with the Gympie Regional Council.

Jennifer Beck made headlines in 2016 after she lodged an anti-discrimination complaint against a fellow club member who made derogatory comments about her in emails. In 2021 she was awarded $19,000 in compensation. Pic Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2022.

It is a disease in which cancer cells form in the lymph system.

She was 74 years old when she died, following a 12-month battle with the disease.

Fellow pilots and aerodrome identities Di and Ray Gresham had known Ms Beck for more than 15 years.

“She was always very proud of the fact she managed to see that through and set the precedent,” Mrs Gresham said.

Her legacy extended well beyond what made the news though.

“She had been central part of the aerodrome,” Mrs Gresham said.

Ms Beck would do “anything anyone asked”, she said, and voluntarily.

“She was a good friend who would go the extra mile for anyone.

“She didn’t judge people.”

Friends of Jennifer Beck have remembered her as an “inspiration” who trained hundreds of pilots in her time at the Kybong Aerodrome.

Mr Gresham was one of those who benefited from Ms Beck’s years of professional experience and expertise.

“She taught me to fly,” Mr Gresham said, adding Ms Beck was “inspirational” with and happy to help “anybody who turned up (at the aerodrome)”.

Then there was her work which did not draw attention.

“She did a lot of stuff that was never really recognised and taken for granted,” Mr Gresham said.

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Club treasurer Daryl Scurr said Ms Beck would have trained “hundreds” of pilots in her time at Gympie.

“She had so much knowledge about aviation,” Mr Scurr said.

She was a member of what Mr Scurr called the GOATS (gathering of aviation tragics), which would make regular trips to the nearby Puma service centre or Cooroy RSL for lunch.

Mr Scurr said she was “very easily hurt and very sensitive” and sadly the legal cases had left a mark on her.

News of Ms Beck’s death was met with an outpouring of tributes on the club’s Facebook page.

Peter Croce said she was a “passionate aviator who sent me on my first solo”, and Connie Graham described her as “beautiful soul who would be missed”.