Lucas Di Biase, who recently graduated at the top of his class, was a young man whose passion for aviation defined him from a young age.
“Since he was just a toddler, Lucas dreamed of becoming a pilot,” shared his heartbroken family, still grappling with the loss.
“He will always be in our hearts. Forever 20. Fly high, our beautiful boy,” they added in a tribute to their beloved son.
Lucas had not been scheduled to be on the flight that fateful Friday. Nonetheless, he eagerly accepted the opportunity to ride in the back seat.
He had plans to depart for Darwin the following day, where he intended to pursue his dream alongside his close friend, Savvas Tsambarlis.
“Flying was his passion. He was captivated by all forms of aviation and aspired to become an airline pilot one day,” Tsambarlis reminisced.
“He was a great mate, he was funny, he was always having a laugh as much as we would talk about flying he was always good to talk to about everything else.”
Also onboard the ill-fated training flight was 18-year-old Tristan Scheffers.
A video from his family showed his love of flying from a young age.
He’d just finished year 12 and was on his way to earning his commercial pilot licence.
His shattered dad paid tribute.
“Our beautiful boy who loved flying more than anything else spread his wings one last time on Friday,” he said.
Experienced pilot and instructor Leo Howard, described as “one of the best”, was also killed.
An investigation is under way.
“There’ll be a thorough investigation by CASA but I think now more than anything else is about the community getting around the families of those who’ve lost their lives,” South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
