Gundaroo plane crash: Fundraiser started for family of children, grandad killed

Three children killed in a horror plane crash with their grandad outside Canberra have been remembered for the joy they brought to the world, with one special memory emerging the day before their deaths.

Philomena, Evita and Raphael Smith died in a horror light plane crash with their grandfather Peter Nally in Gundaroo on October 6, 2023. Picture: GoFundMe

New details have emerged about the “clever, fun and compassionate” Armidale children and their experienced aviator grandfather who were tragically killed in a light plane crash outside of Canberra.

Investigators believe a special parachute failed to open above their aircraft which crashed at Gundaroo during a short homeward journey from Canberra to Armidale on Friday, killing three children and their grandad.

The victims of the fatal light plane disaster were identified as experienced pilot Peter Nally and his grandchildren — 11-year-old Raphael, nine-year-old Evita and six-year-old Philomena, who were less than 20 minutes into their voyage.

The built-in parachute system on the Cirrus SR22 being flown by Mr Nally failed to deploy as the plane fell from the sky in seconds.

A massive explosion followed prompting a response by emergency services, however it was too late for those on board.

Dave and Elise Smith with their older children who died, Raphael, Evita and Philomena, and a younger sibling.

In the days since their deaths, a fundraiser has been created by Kristin Boyle on behalf of heartbroken parents Elise and David Smith and Mr Nally’s wife Therese.

Ms Boyle said the loss would “reverberate” through their lives.

“The Nally and Smith extended families are forever changed by having known these wonderful people, little and big,” the fundraiser states.

“The joy they brought to our lives cannot be undone. They were wildly imaginative, clever, fun and compassionate.”

Ms Boyle said after a day at the zoo on Thursday, the children spent the night “engaged” in an hours’ long game of “make-believe”, saving animals from poachers inside an elaborate lounge room cubby.

“All three were passionate Penrith Panthers supporters and raised the roof on their Armidale home on Sunday night watching their team’s miraculous win,” she said.

Parents Elise and Dave Smith with their children. Their three older children Raphael, Evita and Philomena died in the light plane crash.

“Raphael, Evita and Philomena loved to read, create works of art and play sport, to help out their adored mum and dad, and play with their little brothers and cousins.

“They were happy kids who knew, every day, how much they were loved.”

The crash site in Gundaroo. Picture: Sam Turner

Ms Boyle said the fundraiser was co-ordinated to help the Smith family with the “costs inevitable over the coming months” and to allow them time together to “find strength as they forge a path so completely unexpected”.

She said the Smiths suggested donors could give to a charity aligned with their lives under the children’s names as well.

“Alternatively, buy a loved one a book and read it with them, go for a play in the park or a swim, visit a zoo, hug your kids tight, and say a little prayer for us all,” she said.

Mr Nally, who lives in the Queensland suburb of Bunya, left the Redcliffe Aero Club on October 3 and spent the evening at his daughter Ms Smith’s home in Armidale before he took his grandchildren on a flight to Canberra.

They spent two days with extended family at Ainslie before they boarded their flight back to Armidale on Friday.

Sadly they never made it home, with Mrs Smith and her husband David tragically losing three of their five children, along with her father.