Weeks after watching his daughter Amanda get married, pilot Robert Greig has died after taking to the skies for one of his regular flights.
Flying in tandem with a close friend in their light aircrafts on Tuesday, the flight was trouble-free until Mr Greig hit bad weather over rugged terrain near Austinmer, in the NSW Illawarra region.
Mr Greig's friend became separated from the doting father-of-two and did a loop to see if he could find him while calling him constantly.
But after no sighting of Mr Greig, the pilot turned back to Wedderburn Airport and called police on Tuesday evening.
On the ground, residents in Austinmer had heard a loud bang in the direction of a difficult to access escarpment.
Twelve hours later police found 57-year-old Mr Greig's body in the wreckage of his light single-seater aircraft.
The death has sent shockwaves through the local aviation community as friends and family mourn the loss of a pilot with four decades of experience.
"Robert was a marvellous example of a pilot who flew for the joy of it and flew as much as he was able," Wedderburn Sport Aircraft Club president Bret Cavanagh told AAP.
Mr Greig, who has been remembered as a larrikin and for his constant grin, is survived by his two daughters, Amanda and Renee, whose names he had inked on his body.
Social media photos shows the extended family celebrating Amanda's wedding late last year.
Mr Greig split his time between his love for flying and casual work at carpentry business Southern Stairs in Sydney's south.
"He loved his flying," his manager told AAP.
"He went to the United States a couple of times to the air shows."
Police clambered through the dense bushland on Wednesday morning before reaching Mr Greig's home-built aircraft.
Superintendent Kyle Stewart said police officers were able to use a mobile phone Mr Greig had with him to narrow down the search area.
Mr Cavanagh said the other pilot who flew with Mr Greig before he went down was shattered.
"He has lost a friend as well ... and is in some form of shock," he said.
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