The family of a former senior Victorian firefighter killed in a light plane crash says he died doing what he loved.
Peter Brereton, 60, was returning from coastal NSW when the plane he was flying crashed in Victoria's alpine region on Wednesday.
The wreckage of the single engine Cessna was found by a search helicopter about 20km west of Mt Hotham on Thursday morning.
Mr Brereton's wife Lyn and children Marianne, Natalie, Kate, David and Michael say he was a well-respected and active member of the Euroa community and a member of the church.
He was enjoying long service leave pending his retirement, they said.
"Peter died doing something he loved; he had a passion for flying and was an experienced pilot who had flown extensively across Australia," they said in a statement on Friday.
"He was widely known and respected throughout much of northeastern Victoria and beyond and we recognise that his many friends and colleagues will be distressed by this tragic loss."
Mr Brereton had been in the CFA for 39 years and was a former officer in charge of the Shepparton fire brigade.
It is understood he was doing private work to help out with the NSW bushfire effort when he crashed, as he was not engaged in CFA or fire agency business.
Mr Brereton's plane went missing after it took off from Moruya on the far south coast of NSW at 8.15am on Wednesday and never made it to its destination at Mangalore Airport, about two hours north of Melbourne.
