Pacific Airshow Gold Coast mourns US Marines killed in horror Osprey training crash
The Pacific Airshow Gold Coast team is joining those mourning US Marines killed in a training crash - days earlier they had been wowing Surfers Paradise beachfront crowds. Read the tribute.
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Two of three US marines killed in a horror Northern Territory training exercise crash had just days earlier been wowing hundreds of thousands of Gold Coast airshow fans.
The Pacific Airshow Gold Coast team is in mourning after Captain Eleanor LeBeau, 29, and Major Tobin Lewis, 37, were confirmed among the three deceased.
A third US Marine Corps Corporal Spencer Collart, 21, was also killed on Sunday when their Osprey crashed during Exercise Predators Run on Melville Island, 80km north of Darwin.
Pacific Airshow organisers confirmed Major Lewis - whose call sign was “Smeagol” - had been piloting the Osprey that wowed the Surfers Paradise beachfront crowds the weekend prior to the fatal crash.
It was a major part of the airshow line up, firing off flares as it buzzed the beachfront lined with 20,000 paying attendees daily. Double that were estimated to be watching free from hotels and outside the airshow beach exclusion zone.
Captain LeBeau was overseeing a US Marines expo area at the airshow precinct in the tourism hub.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast - which is locked in to return to the Gold Coast annually for four more years - said: “The Pacific Airshow family is devastated by the loss of our friends Major Tobin “Smeagol” Lewis, 37, Captain Eleanor LeBeau, 29, and Corporal Spencer Collart, 21.
“Three Marines remain hospitalized, one in critical condition. Our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences go out to their families, loved ones and fellow Marines during this difficult time.
“Hundreds of thousands of people were inspired by the pride and professionalism of the US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey display put on by Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 363 at Gold Coast earlier this month.
“The memory of Major Tobin Lewis, Captain Eleanor LeBeau and Corporal Spencer Collart will live on forever in the lives they touched. Blue skies and tailwinds.”
An airshow spokeswoman told the Bulletin both Major Lewis and Captain LeBeau had departed from the Gold Coast on the Monday morning, six days before their fatal crash, anxious to get back to Darwin for their training exercises.
“Major Lewis wanted to make sure he put on a really good show. They were very focused on strengthening the ties between Australia and the United States.
“They were really top-notch people and very talented,” the Pacific Airshow spokeswoman said.
The trio who died were killed in a fiery crash when their Osprey went down about 9.43am on Sunday. The cause remains under investigation, with police expecting it to take up to 10 days.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate paid tribute to the Marines who lost their lives in Sunday’s crash, which he described as a “tragedy”.
“It’s devastating,” he said.
“I don’t know the full extent of what happened (in the Tiwi Islands) but my condolences go out to the families and friends of the US Marines.”
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Originally published as Pacific Airshow Gold Coast mourns US Marines killed in horror Osprey training crash
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