Sydney tourist Simon Bodie was sitting in front seat of fatal sightseeing seaplane flight
Sydney tourist and father-of-two Simon Bodie was a pilot with a passion for flying and had asked to sit in the front seat of a sightseeing seaplane that collided mid-air with another killing him and five other passengers in Alaska on Tuesday morning.
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A Sydney resident killed in a seaplane crash in Alaska had a passion for flying and had asked to sit in the front seat of the aeroplane before his death.
Business strategist and father-of-two Simon Bodie, from Tempe, was one of six people killed when two sightseeing seaplanes collided mid-air and crashed into the icy waters off a southeast Alaska inlet near Ketchikan, a popular destination for cruise ships.
The collision occurred when a larger de Havilland Otter DHC-3, carrying 10 passengers and the pilot, was returning from Misty Fjord and collided with a smaller DHC-2 Beaver.
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Mr Bodie left Sydney last week with his wife Stephanie for an Alaskan cruise and decided to go on a joy ride when their ship docked.
A popular activity off the cruise ships is sightseeing by seaplane around the Misty Fjords National Monument to view lakes, snow-capped peaks and glacier valleys in the wilderness area.
Brother-in-law James Gwynne, 49, said Mr Bodie’s daughter Aelish, 25, had just become engaged.
“There were two sea planes which are both charter planes, the ship docked and you could have these excursions. Simon was a pilot,” Mr Gwynne said.
“So unfortunately for Simon, he nominated to be in the front seat, not as a co-pilot, just sitting there and observing. It’s our understanding that he was in the smaller plane. Two planes took off and there was nothing untoward with weather, there was beautiful sunny skies heading up to the fjords.
“We’re hearing there may have been an issue with the larger plane … Stephanie was on the (cruise ship).”
Mr Gwynne said Stephanie, Aelish and son Dominic, 21, were “heartbroken” after receiving the news.
“The one thing that’s true with Simon is that he’s a great family man,” Mr Gwynne said.
“Unfortunately for Aelish, she just got engaged to be married, so she’s not very well today. We’re going to get Stephanie and Simon home ... and then we’re going to grieve properly. Aelish is so heartbroken. She wanted to have her wedding at St Andrew’s Cathedral and unfortunately it’s going to be replaced with a funeral.”
Mr Gwynne said Mr Bodie was adventurous but always safe. “Simon was adventurous … to see the outdoors and to experience the world was something that he always wanted to do,” Mr Gwynne said.
“You wouldn’t find anyone more safety-orientated than Simon.
“Simon does love his safety. If it says 80km/h speed limit Simon is doing 65km/h. “That was the way he lived his life.”
Mr Bodie was originally from Leeds and met his wife at a Kings Cross café where she was a waitress in the 1980s.
“It’s a beautiful love story. The first person he met was my sister in Kings Cross, she was working in a café, and he asked for a job. He literally had $100 in his pocket.
“Stephanie said I have a spare room in my place and they got married a year later ... happily married 31 years.’’
Originally published as Sydney tourist Simon Bodie was sitting in front seat of fatal sightseeing seaplane flight
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