Altona Senior Citizens Club is in shock after a former president died in a light plane crash last week.
Ron Stares, 85, of Altona North, died when his kit-built Sonnex aircraft crashed soon after take-off at Lethbridge Airpark, about 100 kilometres west of Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Emergency services were called to the Midland Highway about midday after the plane nose-dived from a height of just six metres.
Police said it appeared the plane experienced difficulties in landing and the cause was yet to be determined.
A doctor who witnessed the crash said Mr Stares appeared to slump over the controls just before the crash.
Airport owner Garry Baum, who tried to resuscitate Mr Stares, said early indications pointed to some kind of medical condition as a cause of the crash.
“To fly the plane he was flying, a
two-seat recreational aircraft – and it’s different to your general aviation aircraft – you have to have a check every two years to make sure you’re up to speed in flying,” Mr Baum said.
“You have to do that with a chief flying instructor.
“[Mr Stares] did that some three months earlier and passed.
“Because of his age, he would’ve had to have a medical done at the doctor. He passed that and everything was OK. But he had a heart operation about six years ago and … if you’re legal to drive a motor car, that’s medically good enough to do your plane licence.
“He had been here about six years. It was the third plane he’d had at the airfield and before that he used to hire planes. Then he decided to buy and own his own.”
Mr Stares’ partner of about 15 years, Irene, witnessed the crash.
The pair met through the Altona Senior Citizens’ Club where they attended ballroom dancing classes.
Mr Stares drove the club’s mini-bus and called the numbers in bingo sessions.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash.
