Tasmanian pilot Bob Bramley remembered for love of flying after NT crash
Pilot Bob Bramley was being remembered on Wednesday as a young man who “just loved flying” after his small charter plane crashed in remote
Tasmanian pilot Bob Bramley was being remembered on Wednesday as a young man who “just loved flying” after his small charter plane crashed in remote waters off the Northern Territory coast. Search crews have found aircraft debris, but rough weather and the isolated location have slowed efforts to recover his body.
Police say they believe the 23-year-old died in the crash. They have not yet found him.
Family describes deep loss
Mr Bramley’s family said in a statement: “Our beloved Bob is gone”.
“Bob was a beacon of hope for our family, friends and community,” they said. “We cannot comprehend this great loss in our lives. We are shocked, we are he...”
The statement, cut off in the source material, reflects the raw grief now spreading through his home community in Tasmania and among those who knew him in aviation and suicide prevention circles.
Friends and family described him as passionate, a go-getter and courageous. But above all, they kept returning to the same point. He loved being in the air. It was where he felt most at home.
Short words. Big loss.
Crash off Groote Eylandt
Police launched an investigation on Tuesday afternoon after the small charter plane, operated by Air Frontier, reportedly came down in Angurugu waters off Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
That stretch of sea is remote and hard to reach, and conditions have not helped. Northern Territory search and rescue crews have located aircraft debris, but poor weather has hampered the search effort and left investigators working with limited access to the area.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said authorities believe Bramley died in the crash, though they have yet to recover a body. The search and investigation are continuing.
Outpouring of grief
The news has triggered an outpouring of grief for the Tasmanian pilot and suicide prevention advocate. For friends, the shock has been sharpened by how young he was and how strongly he had embraced flying.
There is still no final answer on the water off Groote Eylandt. For now, the debris is the clearest sign of what happened. And the words from his family linger: “Bob was a beacon of hope for our family, friends and community.”
