Remains of four passengers, pilot removed after helicopter crash at Mt Disappointment

The remains of five people who died in a helicopter crash at Mt Disappointment have been removed from the scene days after the tragedy.

The remains of five victims who lost their lives in a helicopter crash at Mt Disappointment have been removed from the scene of the crash.

The Victorian Coroner has taken responsibility for the victims’ remains as the police cleared the crash site on Sunday afternoon.

Victoria Police has confirmed that members of the Disaster Victim Identification Unit have completed their examination and handed control of the investigation to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The remains have been removed after delays due to weather conditions at the scene where a Microflite helicopter crashed on Thursday, killing four passengers and the pilot.

No distress call was made in the moments before the crash at Mt Disappointment.

Air crash investigators have been sifting through the wreckage in the hope of piecing together the chopper’s final minutes using onboard data recorders.

Police and SES crews worked through foul weather to recover the victims, with visibility at times less than 50m and constant drizzle hindering their progress.

The organiser of the doomed Mt Disappointment charter flight said the helicopter lost contact 40km north of Melbourne.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, Southern Prime Meat Company said the company was “deeply shocked and devastated” by the accident, adding it would “continue to cooperate with relevant authorities as part of the ongoing investigation.

Southern Prime Meat Company said the charter flight intended to “look over” the company’s operations in northern Victoria.

“We wish to extend our deepest condolences and support to all impacted by the events that unfolded on Thursday,” Southern Prime Meat Company said.

Tribute to ‘inspiring individual’

Sydney businessman and lawyer, Nicholas Vasudeva was killed in the helicopter crash.

A Sydney businessman and lawyer killed in the Mount Disappointment crash has been remembered as a “true gentlemen”.

Nicholas Vasudeva, who was the co-founder and general counsel of First Ag Capital, was inspecting property with colleagues when he was killed in the Thursday morning helicopter crash.

The macro advisory firm confirmed Mr Vasudeva’s death in a statement on Saturday afternoon.

“Nicholas was an inspiring individual, with a storied career in both Australia and the United Kingdom at a number of Law Firms and Financial Institutions,” First Ag Capital CEO Justin Harrison and Managing Director Lawrence Frawley said in a joint statement.

“Nicholas was an integral part of the First Ag team, and his ability to identify the real issues and clearly articulate them was uncanny.

“He was a true gentleman with a great sense of humour who was well loved by all his colleagues, associates and family and will be missed dearly.”

The company extended its “heartfelt condolences” to the 53-year old’s wife, and three children he leaves behind.

‘Remarkable’ pilot remembered

The pilot involved in the Mount Disappointment helicopter tragedy has been identified as 32-year-old Dean Neal.

Mr Neal, from Cheltenham, has been remembered as a “highly respected” pilot and “remarkable” son, brother and friend.

It comes as the fourth victim of the crash is identified as NSW finance consultant Ian Perry.

Tech entrepreneur Linda Woodford and chairman of Radfords, Paul Troja are also known to have died in what has been described by authorities as one of the “worst” aviation tragedies in Victoria’s history.

Local emergency service volunteers had long been told to prepare for an air disaster around Mt Disappointment, where five people perished in a helicopter crash on Thursday morning.

The mountain, east of Wallan, was on early Sunday morning again being buffeted by wind and was blanketed the cloud, as the efforts to remove the bodies of the four passengers and pilot entered a third day.

A former CFA member said local volunteers were repeatedly told to prepare for a possible plane crash on the mountain, which sits under a busy flight path.

Pilot Dean Neal.

Mr Neal was 32 years old.

The Victorian Coroner on Thursday had yet to remove the remains of the five victims from the site.

Mr Neal’s family released a statement expressing their grief at his death and sympathy for the families of the other four deceased passengers.

“We are inexplicably shocked and distressed by the loss of our dear son and brother, Dean,” the statement read.

“Dean has always been the most conscientious of professional pilots and always put the safety and well being of his passengers in the highest of his priorities during his many years of professional service.

Mr Neal was described as a ‘highly respected’ pilot.

“Our broken hearts go to the family’s and friends of those who were flying with him.

“Your unspeakable loss is understood by us all. We know Dean would have done anything in his power to deliver his passengers safely to their destination.”

Mr Neal had worked for Microflite for several years.

Online records show he received his commercial helicopter pilot license in 2016.

Mr Neal was extremely passionate about his work which had taken him across the country.

Social media posts show him flying everywhere from Ayers Rock in Central Australia to Hamilton Island in Queensland.

Mr Neal was trained to provide bushfire aerial support and patrol beaches with Surf Life Saving Victoria.

He had also flown news camera crews across the country during his career.

Dean Neal’s family speak of their grief after the pilot’s shock death. Picture: Channel 7

In one news broadcast, he was affectionately described as an “underage Backstreet Boy” due to his youthful looks.

This became a nickname friends playfully used for him over the years.

Tech entrepreneur on board

Linda Woodford was among the victims.

She is the founder and CEO of AXIchain.

A tech entrepreneur who was killed in the Mount Disappointment helicopter crash has been remembered as a kind soul who lived life to the fullest.

Linda Woodford was the founder and CEO of AXIchain, a Melbourne based digital trading company which focuses on enhancing agricultural supply chains.

On Friday evening, AXIchain announced with “total disbelief and sadness” that New South Wales finance consultant Ian Perry was also killed in the helicopter crash alongside Ms Woodford.

Ian Perry’s family are ‘lost for words’ following his tragic death.

“Linda and Ian were involved in a fatal helicopter accident yesterday while visiting clients in rural Victoria,” the agricultural tech company said in a statement posted online.

“Linda was a driven visionary and an eternal optimist and will be deeply missed by all that knew her.

“Ian was a respected member of the agricultural industry and a committed family man and will be sorely missed by all that knew him.

Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with Linda and Ian’s families at this difficult time.

Family and friends say they are still coming to terms with the loss.

Ms Woodford’s brother, Andrew Woodford, told Nine News the family was “distraught” and had “never felt emotional pain like this.”

He said the businesswoman was “transforming the entire meat industry process... revolutionising and digitising.”

Friends say Ms Woodford was a larger than life figure who always put others first.

“Such a beautiful, fun-loving and genuinely compassionate soul, such a loss, and such a shame for this to happen just as all her hard work was really paying off,” long-time friend Martin Gibson wrote online.

“Her family are still dealing with the loss of her sister-in law, whose children she had treated like her own.”

Mr Gibson said his friend of 25-years led a “fantastic, innovative and world-leading” blockchain company.

He said, “her success came after relentless work and picking herself up after many failures.

“She packed a lot into her half century, and she’ll leave a big hole in so many people’s lives including mine.”

AXIchain touts itself online as the “the next generation supply chain and trading platform.”

It was founded in 2018 with a mission to streamline domestic and international supply chain processes.

Ms Woodford’s career experience spanned across the oil and gas, mining, agriculture, food and beverage sector, according to the company’s website.

“I like to win and I like to figure out how to make things work,” Ms Woodford told a U.K. agricultural publication last year.

“I’m a problem solver at heart.”

Ian Perry’s family ‘lost for words’

Mr Perry’s devastated family released a statement saying they were “lost for words”.

“He will be remembered as a loving husband, a caring dad, son, and brother, and a genuine friend to so many,’’ it said.

“His warm smile and joyful presence will have a lasting impact on his friends, family, and co-workers both here in Australia and across the globe.’’

“We appreciate your love and caring thoughts, and we send ours back to you for your loss as well as ours.”

Tributes for passenger Paul Troja

One of the passengers killed in the tragic crash at Mt Disappointment has been identified as Paul Troja, chairman of Radfords in Warragul.

The 73-year-old Albert Park man was a titan of Victoria’s meat industry and a highly valued member of Radfords.

His family was mourning the loss of the 73-year-old at Mr Trojas’s Albert Park property.

A man was seen delivering a bouquet of flowers to his address on Friday afternoon.

Daughter Cassandra Troja said the family was moved by the tributes to her father.

“We appreciate that people are showing an interest and that really beautiful words are being said about my father,” she said.

The Herald Sun understands the doomed helicopter tour was arranged to view an agricultural property in Ulupna on the state’s border.

About 11 men and women were on board both helicopters, with Mr Troja the only representative from Radfords.

Radfords Warragul chairman Paul Troja was among those killed in the helicopter crash.

Mr Troja has been remembered as a “treasured” husband, father and grandfather.

Radfords released a statement saying staff were deeply saddened by his sudden and tragic death.

“Paul, a stalwart in the global meat industry, has consulted to our business for over five years and became the inaugural Chairman of our Board when it was formed in 2019,” the statement said.

“He has served our company with distinction during this time, is a close friend of our owner Robert Radford and a respected member of our leadership team.

“Paul played an integral role in Radfords obtaining its Tier 1 export licence and its expansion into international markets.

“Our condolences are with his wife Ann, children, grandchildren and members of his extended family – who were treasured by him – and friends at this time and with the family and friends of the other people involved in this accident.”

An investigation into the cause of the crash is expected to take at least a month. Picture: Jason Edwards

‘One of the worst’ aviation tragedies in state’s history

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell, who arrived on scene about noon on Friday, said investigators were so far not aware of any distress calls from the pilot.

“Yesterday’s tragic accident unfortunately is one of a number the ATSB is now investigating,” he said.

“Yesterday’s represents one of the worst in Victoria’s history.

“This morning it is quite a complex operation for police and SES and I would like to thank and acknowledge the significant efforts of those that have been involved and particularly have worked overnight to get access to the scene so that my investigators who are arriving on site momentarily will be able to get on site and start to uncover what has occurred here.”

Mr Mitchell said the investigators started work on the case within minutes of learning of the tragedy, and would likely have an initial report on the crash within six to eight weeks, but he warned the investigation could run for “many months”.

“We’ll gather anything we can, whether it be recorders, whether it be anything that passengers may have had on them at the time, we’ll certainly look at trying to reconstruct the site from a 3D angle and we’ll quite often use drones,” he said.

Police being winched to the helicopter crash site. Picture: Nine News

ATSB investigators will look into maintenance records, the pilot’s qualifications, and weather, among other potential factors which may have contributed to the crash.

“It’s a complex operation that we will go though and it does take us many months to get to the bottom of this,” Mr Mitchell said.

Mr Mitchell said the operator had a “very strong safety record”.

The Victorian coroner is expected to begin removing remains on Friday afternoon.

It comes after dozens of specialist search and rescue crews, including police, paramedics, CFA and SES remained on scene overnight at Blair’s Hut camping ground in a bid to assist with the delicate recovery of the five bodies.

Authorities will probe if low-lying cloud or smoke haze from planned burns played a role in the crash.

The same low-hanging cloud, into which the helicopter disappeared before crashing on Thursday, again blanketed Mt Disappointment on Friday morning, as police, SES and air crash investigators returned to work at dawn, faced with the grim task of removing five bodies from the steep, dense state forest.

A police chopper flies to the crash site. Picture: Nine News

Two charter flights operated by Victorian family-owned business Microflite had been travelling in convoy on Thursday morning bound for Yarrawonga when one helicopter disappeared over the state forest about 8am.

The flights departed Moorabbin Airport at 7.10am before picking up their passengers from the Melbourne city helipad on the Yarra River.

Ambulance Victoria was called to the incident at 9.35am but it took aerial search crews more than two hours to find the crash site as they competed with dense and rugged state forest about 8km from the Blair’s Hut picnic area.

Police from the search and rescue squad were winched in from a chopper into the search zone about 3pm.

Two bulldozers, an excavator and a team of search and rescue experts on foot attempted to reach the site on Thursday evening.

Acting Inspector Josh Langelaan said the police air wing spotted the crash site shortly before noon, just over an hour after the doomed helicopter was reported missing.

“Due to very difficult terrain we were not able to access the site until 3.45pm this afternoon, where we did confirm the location of a crashed helicopter and unfortunately all five persons on board have died,” he said on Thursday night.

“The investigation and formal identification process is still taking place. We’re working closely with next of kin and family.”

A tree showing crash damage. Picture: Nine News

Mr Langeraan said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau would take over the investigation of the crash on Friday morning.

“The crash is in very difficult terrain. It’s in the middle of the forest.”

“At first light investigators will re-attend the site.”

“It’s very overgrown tracks in there, difficult terrain as I said. So, access is very difficult, so they’ve been using bulldozers and excavators to enable vehicles to get in. Our search and rescue members this morning had to rappel down from the police air wing to gain access to the site.”

“Our focus is, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims today. It is a terrible accident that has occurred and we’ll be working very closely with the next of kin and family and friends to help them through this very difficult time.”

“It was a confronting scene.”

Executive general manager at Microflite Helicopter Services Rodney Higgins confirmed its services would be suspended in the wake of the crash. Picture: David Geraghty

Microflite executive manager Rodney Higgins said the “highly respected” pilot had been with the company for a number of years.

“I extend my deepest condolences to all affected by this incident,” he said.

“We take these matters extremely seriously. We will work with all relevant authorities. Safety and wellbeing of all of our passengers and people is our highest priority. We have very stringent safety protocols in place.”

Microflite has suspended all services until April 5.

Registration records show the helicopter, owned by the Asian Pacific Building Corporation, is a single engine EC130 light utility, built in France in 2017.

A Microflite helicopter in the CBD.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed it was investigating the cause of the crash.

“The ATSB is deploying a team of transport safety investigators from our Canberra and Melbourne offices with expertise in helicopter operations and maintenance, and aerospace engineering, to the accident site,” an ATSB spokesman said.

“Once on site, they will examine the wreckage and site surrounds and will retrieve any relevant components for further examination in the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra.

“The ATSB will also analyse any recorded data and conduct interviews with those who have knowledge of the flight.”

The second aircraft travelled 75km further north to Mangalore airport and dropped its passengers off.

A mobile command centre was set up on Main Mountain Rd. Picture: Jason Edwards

It returned to Moorabbin Airport about 1.30pm with three Microflite employees on board and was wheeled into a hangar.

Police set up a mobile command centre on Main Mountain Rd, which was a hive of activity on Thursday with dozens of emergency services workers and volunteers.

The SES said they were well-equipped to help.

“We have rescue capability, casualty handling equipment, lighting and temporary casualty shelters,” a SES spokesman said.

A massive search effort was launched to find the helicopter.

The helicopter was found near Blairs Hut. Picture: Jason Edwards

Rod Costigan, co-chair of Victoria’s volunteer bush search and rescue squad, said aerial searches for the missing helicopter were understandably difficult.

“It is a fairly disturbed forest, that therefore has quite thick regrowth of various types,” he said. “It is much more difficult to see things in the forest from the sky, more difficult than people would realise.”

Weather bureau duty forecaster Miriam Bradbury said it had been cloudy in the area at the time of the incident, ­according to approximated data.

“Across southern Victoria, including that area there were pretty cloudy conditions,” she said. “Weather conditions at that time don’t look like they were inclement, there is nothing weatherwise that would immediately stand out. However there was cloud in the area and winds were brisk.”

Authorities expect to remain on site for days to come.

Originally published as Remains of four passengers, pilot removed after helicopter crash at Mt Disappointment