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The wreckage of a former military jet that crashed into Port Phillip Bay last weekend, killing pilot Stephen Gale and cameraman James Rose, was pulled from the water off Mornington on Saturday morning.
After an extensive recovery mission, Victoria Police said a crane lifted the badly damaged fuselage of the light S-211 Marchetti plane, which is about four metres wide and weighs about a tonne, from the water and took it to Port Melbourne on a barge.
The wreck of the crashed jet on a barge in Port Phillip Bay on Saturday.Credit: Nine News
Human remains, which were discovered inside the underwater wreckage on Wednesday, will be removed before the Australian Transport Safety Bureau examines the aircraft further.
Gale, a pilot, engineer, inventor and aspiring filmmaker, and Rose, a talented cameraman and drone operator, died after a midair collision with another jet about 12 kilometres west of Mount Martha, in Melbourne’s south-east on Sunday afternoon. They were filming for a documentary series that planned to teach people with no experience how to fly.
“Police divers have carried out extensive searches and have been working to recover the aircraft since it was discovered earlier this week,” police said in a statement on Saturday.
“Investigators are working to establish the exact circumstances of the incident and investigations remain ongoing.”
Cameraman James Rose (left) and pilot Stephen Gale (right) were on board the plane that crashed on Sunday.
The other plane involved landed safely at Essendon airport shortly after the collision. Police said they had interviewed the pilot of that plane.
Gale, who had served in the RAAF and was the owner of the two jets, was the brains behind the proposed documentary series the pair were filming, called Jet School.
Novice pilots involved in the series included engineer Dr Jillian Kennedy, maxillofacial surgeon Dr Nu Dastaran and The Project panellist Tommy Little.
Little paid tribute to the pilot and offered his condolences to Gale’s widow and young son in a social media post on Wednesday night, saying he had lost one his closest mates, his mentor and “sidekick in the sky”.
Little said Gale was “an inventor, an adventurer and [had] a heart of gold”.
Rose’s father, David, told The Age his son’s death had been “truly devastating” to his family and the entire TV industry. James was one of the best drone pilots in the country, he said.
“I know that his story will soon pass and become old news like so many other stories, but I would like the world to know what a wonderful young man he was,” he said.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will examine the aviation company’s regulation compliance and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the crash.
Ex-military planes, such as the former Singapore Air Force S-211 Marchetti that Gale flew, are not required to meet typical civil aviation standards or fly with the same degree of safety as other aircraft.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, with footage, or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto www.crimestoppers.com.au.
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