KEY POINTS:
An injured hang-glider pilot joked bravely with friends after a crash landing, unaware that his injuries were fatal.
But he began losing consciousness as he awaited the arrival of paramedics.
Aucklander Stephen Elliott, 48, was taking part in the Forbes Flatland Hang Gliding Championship in Sydney last Saturday when he landed badly.
Elliott shattered four bones in his neck and damaged several blood vessels that supplied blood to the brain. He was flown to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney and put into an induced coma but died on Monday.
Police said the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was investigating the accident. The week-long competition was scheduled to continue today, despite Elliott's death, and serious spinal and facial injuries to another competitor in a second crash.
The New Zealander's brother, Queensland-based Simon Elliott, was at the hospital with his mother and two sisters when Stephen died.
"One of the pilots who was first on the scene was also a nurse," Simon said. "And a couple of his mates were at his side after the accident.
"He was joking around with them - he didn't know how badly he was hurt. Then he started slipping in and out of consciousness."
Other hang-glider pilots have paid tribute to Stephen, his gentle humour, and his expertise. One said he was the only person in the world who could build a modern hang-glider from the ground up. His funeral was held in Sydney on Friday.
Simon said his brother always knew the risks involved in hang-gliding.
"But it is quite a controlled sport - he never thought it was dangerous."
The last time he saw his brother was at Christmas.
"Mum and my sister were over here for Christmas and we went camping in New South Wales. Stephen came on Christmas Eve and left on Boxing Day. It was really good to have those few days with him."
Stephen was born in New Plymouth but the family moved to Howick when he was a child. He worked as a sail-maker before moving to Sydney about 10 years ago to make hang-gliders for a company called Moyes.
"He got into hang-gliding through an old school friend," his brother said.
"It was his passion in life. He didn't have any other hobbies - hang-gliding was it. But my brother loved drinking beer and socialising with his friends.
"He was a free spirit and he was very active, he just loved life and tried to do the most he could for people.
"His nickname was Missy Elliott, because there were too many Steves where he worked so they called him that. Everyone knew him as Missy Elliott."
Elliott's workmate David Seib said he was a "mechanical genius".
"He was very well known in the hang-gliding community and very well liked. He was a fun-loving guy who will be greatly missed."
Messages posted on hang-gliding chatroom www.hanggliding.org say Stephen was a "really top bloke".
"When I got the news yesterday it nearly knocked me out [of] the chair, literally," said a user named Adam.
"I have done a lot of flying with Steve at many comps [sic].
"Every few minutes he seemed to be laughing about something. A unique and fantastic person. The effect of his passing will be felt for some time."
