Preparations have begun to farewell the pilot who lost his life, along with five others, when a seaplane smashed into a river north of Sydney.
Pilot Gareth Morgan, 44, died on New Year's Eve when the DHC-2 Beaver owned by Sydney Seaplanes crashed into Jerusalem Bay on the Hawkesbury River.
The pilot's Canadian family arrived in Sydney on Friday morning and thanked the men who desperately tried to save Mr Morgan and his passengers as the damaged plane sank to the riverbed.
Mr Morgan died along with high-profile UK businessman Richard Cousins, his adult sons Edward and William, his fiancee Emma Bowden and her 11-year-old daughter Heather, when the plane plunged into the Hawkesbury River.
The wreckage of the plane was recovered by authorities on Thursday and investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash.
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A friend, who visited the scene of the crash to pray, said Mr Morgan's life "embodied his faith".
A service for Mr Morgan, to be held at his Waverly church on Wednesday, is being touted as a celebration of his life.
