Dean Neal Wiki

                                                Dean Neal Biography

Who was Dean Neal ?

The pilot involved in a devastating helicopter crash that left five dead has been remembered as “remarkable” and “highly respected”.

Dean Neal was killed when the helicopter he was flying crashed on Mt Disappointment in the Victoria region on Thursday afternoon.

The 32-year-old man had four passengers, including Radfords Slaughterhouse President Paul Troja, in his care.

All five died in the tragedy.

Family

Mr. Neal was a “professional and conscientious pilot [who] always put the safety and well-being of the passengers at the highest of his priorities,” his devastated family said in a statement Friday evening. afternoon.

“Our broken hearts go out to the family and friends of those who flew with him,” they said.

‘Your unspeakable loss is understood by all of us. We know that Dean would have gone to great lengths to get his passengers safely to his destination.

Mr. Neal used to work for Microflite Helicopter Services, a Victoria-based family business that offers private flights and premium tours.

Microflite executive general manager Rod Higgins said in a statement that the pilot was “highly respected.”

“The service had been traveling as part of a two-plane charter flight when it lost communication with the second plane shortly after 8 a.m.,” he said.

He flew everywhere from Ayers Rock to Hamilton Island and has been a qualified pilot since 2016.

Mr. Neal was trained to provide specialized bushfire support

Mr. Neal was trained to provide specialized bushfire support from the skies and patrolled beaches on behalf of Surf Life Saving Victoria.

He also flew news crews covering some of the nation’s biggest stories.

Paul Troja, chairman of Radfords abattoir in Warragul, was also killed when the helicopter crashed.

“In fact, the company has a very good safety record and is very well managed with new planes.

“Really at this stage, without speculating, weather is probably the main consideration at this stage.”

Mount Disappointment recorded a maximum temperature of 21 ° C and winds of up to 36 km / h.

Controlled forest burns were taking place in the area while there was also low cloud cover throughout the day.

Bartsch warned that “it may be some time” before investigators determine the exact cause of the crash.

“Unlike larger air transport aircraft, these aircraft are not always equipped with black boxes, flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders,” he said.

‘I know the Australian Transport Security Office is on the scene. They will normally deliver a preliminary report in six to seven weeks.

The helicopter was one of two that left Melbourne’s city heliport on Thursday morning, flying in convoy over Mount Disappointment.

Bartsch said the other pilot was the best hope of understanding what happened to the doomed helicopter.

A police helicopter and air ambulance were dispatched to search for the missing helicopter, but terrain hampered their efforts until 11:45 a.m. Thursday, when the remains were finally located.

Higgins said the incident was reported to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority as per industry protocols.

“We will work with the relevant authorities to carry out a thorough investigation of this incident,” she said.

The helicopter had picked up beef farmers from the Melbourne city heliport before reportedly heading north to buy cattle.

The second helicopter returned safely to Morrabbin airport with all those on board accounted for and uninjured.

Five vehicles from the country’s Fire Authority, police and paramedics, including the air ambulance, were at the crash site of the downed helicopter on Thursday.

The Australian Transport Safety Office is also investigating and sent a team from its Canberra and Melbourne offices with experience in helicopter operations and maintenance and aerospace engineering to the site.

Experts will inspect the wreckage and the surrounding area before recovering any relevant components to bring back to Canberra for further examination.

The ATSB will also analyze the recorded data and conduct interviews with those with knowledge of the flight.

A preliminary report from the watchdog is expected in six to eight weeks.

Dean Neal Quick and Facts

• Meat industry tycoon Paul Troja among the dead in helicopter crash tragedy 
• Police said five people died in incident at Mount Disappointment on Thursday 
• The pilot, Dean Neal, was highly respected within the aviation industry 
• Mr Neal was trained to fly over bushfires and work with Surf Life Saving crews 
• Aviation expert provided possible cause of helicopter crash in regional Victoria 
• Helicopter was one of two that left the Melbourne CBD for a business flight 
• Passengers were reportedly meat farmers heading north to buy cattle