When David Black voiced concerns about flying in bad weather he was allegedly told 'real men and real pilots would be up there'

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

An experienced waterbombing pilot killed when his plane crashed fighting bushfires was taunted before take-off for voicing his reluctance to fly in poor weather, a parliamentary committee has been told.

David Black, 43, was killed when his fixed-wing Dromader aircraft crashed in Budawang National Park on the New South Wales south coast on 24 October.

"I'm disgusted as I'm informed that on that day it was pretty rugged weather and ... [pilots] were taunted by the Rural Fire Service because these guys didn't particularly want to fly," Bill Heffernan told a Senate hearing into operations of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

The NSW senator said another pilot reported that Black was told "real men and real pilots would be up there".

Witnesses saw a wing snap off Black's aircraft before it plummeted to the ground.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash.

Heffernan said the RFS's opinions were "outside the ambit of safety guidelines of air safety" and asked Casa to clarify its working relationship with the fire authority during emergency operations.

The Casa boss John McCormick said pilots were contracted by the bushfire service during waterbombing.

"We do rely on the expertise of the people who are involved with the firefighting ... I think it's terrible if they gave him intimidation to fly," McCormick said.

Black, the co-owner of an agricultural company operating nine aircraft, has been remembered by family and colleagues as a skilled and respected professional.

A short time after the crash, RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons described the father of three's death as a "huge tragedy".

Since the crash, Dromader M18s have been banned from flight as a precautionary measure by Casa.

Many of the aircraft, typically used for crop spraying, have undergone modification allowing them to carry increased weights.

Heffernan said the aircraft should not be authorised for such activities.

"The rougher the weather and the more speed they've got to have to put the fire out, the more load you put on the wings and hence when the wing fell off this plane it shouldn't have fallen off," he said.