Plane crash Canberra: Hayden Bruce, Tom Sheather die in Cessna accident

A father and partner have shared their hearbreak and devastation after two pilots were killed in a Canberra plane crash.

The family and friends of two passionate pilots killed in a light plane crash have paid tribute to their loved ones.

Hayden Bruce, 31, from Albury and Tom Sheather, 18, from Corryong died after their Cessna crashed near Sutton on Tuesday, March 13.

The two men were employees of Albury based company Oberon Aviation, and were inspecting power lines on a contract with Essential Energy, when the tragedy happened.

Hayden’s father, Stephen Death, shared a touching tribute on Facebook.

“Sadly we have lost our beautiful and much-loved eldest son. An amazing brother to Riley and Alex, and loving partner to Megan …” Mr Death said.

“Our gorgeous Hayden has been taken from us. We are totally and utterly devastated.

“We would like to thank everyone who has phoned, messaged and have sent flowers.

“Our hearts just might break, but we know that the love and support of our friends and family will get us through.”

Hayden’s partner Megan Kaisner said her “heart was split in two” when she heard the “horrible news”.

“Words can’t begin to describe how I’m feeling, or how I will navigate the rest of my life without my sidekick and companion by my side,” Ms Kaisner said on Facebook.

“You were my best friend, my life partner, and I’m so glad that we were able to spend the last of your life living and loving life together.

“Rest easy Hayd. I will love and miss you always.”

Hayden’s brother Riley Payne said Hayden was his brother and his “best mate”.

“Rest easy brother – it won’t be the same without you,” Mr Payne said.

“You just so happened to be my brother and my best mate and there will always be a hole in my heart with you gone.

“Look forward to seeing you in the skies soon.”

Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia president Matt Henderson said the organisation was “deeply saddened” by the death of two of its youngest members.

“Hayden, along with his brothers Riley and Alexander, have grown up in the Antiquers family with their father Stephen having been a member for over 35 years and continuing a family tradition of owning, operating and maintaining vintage, historic, aerial application and ex-military aircraft,” Mr Henderson said.

“Hayden was a regular attendee at our events with his partner Megan and a great advocate and promoter of the association and vintage and historic aviation.

“Tom was one of our newest and youngest members having only recently joined the family, with Hayden‘s encouragement, and together they attended the association’s National Fly-in at Temora only a couple of weeks ago, where Tom’s enthusiasm for vintage and historic aircraft and eagerness to get involved was evident.

“The loss of any of our Antiquers family members is devastating, more so when they are as young as Hayden and Tom, with their whole lives ahead of them and their generation being the future of maintaining and operating vintage and historic aircraft.

“Our deepest condolences and thoughts go out to Hayden and Tom‘s families and friends at this most difficult of times.”

Both Tom and Hayden worked for Albury-based company Oberon Aviation.

Oberon Aviation directors Stirling and Cheryl Preston paid tribute to the two men and vowed to find out what caused the crash.

“We’re a small aviation business company, and family, and have lost two of our members,” Mr Preston said.

“Our focus right now is to provide support for the families of our crew members, and our staff, as we all grieve this loss.

“We can’t speculate on what might have caused this tragic accident while formal investigations are underway.

“However, our families and staff can be assured that we will leave ‘no stone unturned’ in finding the cause of this accident.

“Our staff and their families remain the focus of our thoughts and care.”

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