Nomination for hero pilot Allan Tull who died fighting bushfire
ALLAN Tull, the hero pilot who died while fighting an out-of-control bushfire has been posthumously nominated for the Pride of Australia Award for his courage. Nominate someone yourself.
NSW
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PILOT Allan Tull loved taking to the skies — and he loved helping people.
His 30-year-career took him all over the world, including Guam to spot tuna for commercial fishers, China to perform aerial seismic searches for crude oil and Alaska to round up wild reindeer.
In August, it brought the New Zealand national to Australia for a two-week firefighting stint with Sydney Helicopters. But he was killed just 12 days later when his helicopter crashed while he was waterbombing an out-of-control blaze at Ulladulla on the South Coast.
Mr Tull, 57, has been posthumously nominated for the Pride of Australia Award for his courage, overwhelming community spirit and lifesaving actions.
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“Allan had spent the best part of the last 18 years fighting fires and had great standing as an effective and precise waterbomber,” Sydney Helicopters chief pilot Mark Harrold told The Sunday Telegraph.
“He was such a humble bloke, he’s the last person in the world to court medals or recognition but he’s a very worthy nominee for the Pride of Australia medal.”
Mr Tull’s son Joseph said his dad was loved by Aussies for his quick wit, good humour and humility.
“Aussies loved him because he was one of the best in the business but he’d never admit to it and he’d talk to and give advice to anyone, whether they’d had their pilot’s licence for 20 years or two days,” he said.
“There’s no doubting he loved his job but he loved helping people just as much.”
His fondest memories of his dad all involve flying, including when Mr Tull taught him to pilot a chopper.
“Our lives revolved around flying, hunting and fishing, or all three at once,” he said.
“I’m a dairy farmer and I don’t have my pilot’s licence but I can fly any chopper because Dad taught me.”
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will publish a preliminary report in a month, with investigators considering a range of reasons for why the helicopter crashed into a tree at Woodstock, near Ulladulla.
Mr Tull had survived mid-air engine failures in the past, which is why Joseph suspects his dad had a medical episode that incapacitated him.
A final decision will take at least a year but ATSB investigations can run for as long as three years.
The Kingiman fire, which burned down 15 sheds, took 100 firefighters and five aircraft eight days to control and crews are still patrolling the 2,239-hectare fire ground weeks later.
The cause of the fire is also under investigation but reports indicate the cause was most likely a private burn that escaped, according to a NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman.
Pride of Australia is about recognising ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Pride of Australia nominations are now open and everyone is able to nominate. There are no categories or conditions and it is a simple three-step form to fill in.
http://prideofaustralia.com.au/