The fifth and final victim of a helicopter crash north of Melbourne has been identified as an agricultural business executive and father of three from Sydney.
First AG Capital on Saturday confirmed its co-founder and managing director Nicholas Vasudeva was on board the helicopter with four others when it came down at Mt Disappointment on Thursday morning.
The 53-year-old from Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was travelling as part of a routine property inspection.
In a statement, First AG Capital said Mr Vasudeva had previously worked at a number of law firms and financial institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom and leaves behind a wife and three children.
“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,” it said.
Digital trade company AXIchain earlier announced its CEO and founder Linda Woodford and finance consultant Ian Perry were also killed in the crash.
“Linda was a driven visionary and an eternal optimist and will be deeply missed by all that knew her,” the company said in a Facebook post on Friday night.
“Ian was a respected member of the agricultural industry and a committed family man and will be sorely missed by all that knew him.”
Victorian meat industry boss Paul Troja, 73, was the other passenger on board and was remembered as a passionate and accomplished leader.
The family of the 32-year-old pilot, Dean Neal, said their son and brother was a conscientious and professional pilot.
Australian Transport Safety Bureau crews are at the site of the crash and expected to examine the scene for days.
Drone analysis of the chopper’s flight path, along with assessment of flight control records and weather conditions, will be part of the investigation.
The bureau’s chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the helicopter operator Microflite had a very strong safety record.
The company has suspended all services until at least Tuesday.
The ATSB said it is the fifth fatal aviation crash across the nation this year, with nine people killed in total.
The crash is also Victoria’s deadliest aviation disaster since February 2017, when five people were killed when a charter plane crashed into Melbourne’s Essendon DFO shopping centre.
That crash was the state’s worst civil aviation accident for 30 years.
AAP
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