Family’s heartbreak after pilot vanishes
The heartbroken family of a man presumed dead after his helicopter vanished say they’ve been left with a “hole in their heart”.
Edwin Kraft and his beloved dog Roxy were flying from Cessnock in NSW bound for a property at either Wallis Island near Forster or Belmore River, near Kempsey.
But when he failed to arrive a land and sea search was launched.
The Robinson R66 single-engine turbine helicopter was located on Saturday afternoon in waters near Hawks Nest on the northern shores of Port Stephens.
There are still no signs of the 54-year-old or his dog Roxy.
Mr Kraft, from Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, had left Cessnock on the morning of October 26.
In a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, daughter Ashleigh Kraft said the news had left her “extremely broken and numb”.
“No one can fill the hole in my heart,” she said.
“The most selfless man I know and an epitome of someone who really did live his life to the fullest through his young soul.
“I wish I had one more chance to say goodbye, life takes away the ones who are the most deserving to be here.”
She said her father, Krafty as he was known to loved ones, “left doing the thing (he) loved most, with the girl you loved the most”.
“Your little dog Roxy. For 10 years she never left your side. That’s how you would have wanted to go which brings me so much peace,” she said.
His son, Jayden, said his father was “loved by so many”.
“Everything I do now dad you’ve got a front-row seat to up there, I just wish you were here to enjoy it all with me,” he said in his own heartfelt tribute.
“You best believe I’m going to do everything I can to continue to make you proud and live out your legacy right till the end.”
Friend Cori Isle said Krafty was a “generous man and inspiration to all”.
“He was a generous man who worked incredibly hard and lived life to the fullest always with his little dog Roxy by his side,” Cori Isele said.
“He is very loved by many people and we are all shocked and devastated by this.
“The enormous amount of love and support is overwhelming.”
The helicopter’s cockpit video camera was among the recovered items.
A team of four transport safety investigators from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in Sydney and Canberra have been deployed.
An investigation to examine recovered components, flight tracking data, CCTV footage, pilot and aircraft maintenance records, as well as weather information, is now under way.
A preliminary report will be released in the next eight weeks. A final report to be published at the conclusion of the investigation.
An investigation to examine recovered components, flight tracking data, CCTV footage, pilot and aircraft maintenance records, as well as weather information, is under way.
A preliminary report will be released in the next eight weeks with a final report to be published at the conclusion of the investigation.
