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At just 21, Aleisha O'Reilly was destined to become one of New Zealand's top female pilots - but her love of flying has cost the flight instructor her life.
The aviation community has been left to mourn one of its brightest young stars after O'Reilly's Cessna 152 crashed in the Urewera National Park during a routine training flight on Friday.
Her co-pilot, 19-year-old student Chris Slee, miraculously survived the impact and indicated "swirly" winds may have contributed to the crash.
The plane, nicknamed Kid, with O'Reilly at the controls, plunged into dense bush in a gully near Ruatahuna, north-west of Lake Waikaremoana, around 5pm. Slee sustained injuries to his ankle, a broken finger and a swollen eye, but managed to stumble across 500m of steep terrain to a nearby road, where he was taken by car to the Papuera Marae. He was later airlifted to Rotorua Hospital, where he remained yesterday.
The cause of the accident is yet to be identified, but the general manager of the Bay International Flight School where O'Reilly worked, Laurence Barnett, yesterday hinted that a freak occurrence or pilot error may be to blame, rather than a mechanical fault.
"As far as we are aware, it appears to be that the plane was okay ... We would rather the plane was crap, to be truthful. But that won't be the case.
"Flying is variable, you never know what's going to happen. With the best will in the world, and the best training in the world, things still go wrong."
O'Reilly's father, Steve, was still in shock yesterday after losing his daughter so suddenly.
"It's not fair, that's for sure.
"She absolutely lived for flying, and she was going through the ranks really quickly, and really nailing it."
The devastated father said Aleisha, the second of four children, had lived in Tauranga for the past three years, and liked socialising - "and she was pretty good at it".
"She was bubbly, full of life - a real strong personality, not to be messed with. Just knew what she wanted, and you shouldn't get in her way."
He and wife Julie had spent the day with friends and family at their Matamata home "trying to get a hold of it all", but took comfort that O'Reilly was doing what she loved at the time of her death.
Her "ultimate dream" was to become a commercial pilot. "If you knew Aleisha, and her determination, you would know she would have made it too."
O'Reilly's grandmother, Monica Oliver, said, "It is a dreadful time. We've been very proud of her, this is a terrible blow."
The body of the young woman was airlifted from the accident site yesterday morning, but the wreckage will remain until tomorrow at the earliest as investigations continue.
At the flight school in Tauranga, former students and instructors paid their respects on Friday night with a karakia and a blessing of the airfield.
Barnett said the small, close-knit aviation community had been saddened by the tragedy, and had rallied around those closest to O'Reilly.
"Aleisha was very popular. She was a non-stop goer. She was passionate about her flying, and she was passionate for her students, training them as best she could."
Barnett said O'Reilly was on track to become a 747 captain, and was well-loved by her trainees. She was a mentor to Slee, whom she had flown with several times.
Slee, who was working toward his commerical pilot's licence, was surrounded by friends and family at the hospital where a spokeswoman said he did not wish to speak to media.
Slee's father, Graeme, was most worried about how his son would cope with the death of his pilot instructor, but said Slee had told him he was going to fly again. "It's going to be a battle for him ... but he knows his instructor would have wanted him to fly again, so he's going to."
Graeme said his son had gone through some real trauma, and would undergo surgery on a badly broken finger later in the week.
"It's a damn miracle. They are trained where to find landing spots if they get into trouble, but he's always said if you are over valleys and bush you won't survive."
Slee did survive though, and was taken to the local marae by Ruatahuna farm manager Bob Neill who said the injured man was clearly suffering from shock. "He was cut and bruised, but he was talking coherently and walking alright. But he was very badly shaken."
The student told Neill that he had handed the controls over to O'Reilly just minutes before they crashed; as for the reason, Slee "said the wind wasn't really strong, but it was swirly... it happened too quick, though".
"He knew they were going to impact and he just crossed his arms in front of his face."
Slee told Neill he had checked O'Reilly's pulse before he left the site and was sad every time her name was mentioned.
Senior Constable Eric Grace confirmed O'Reilly had died in the plane before being pulled out of the wreckage by Slee. "I'd say from her injuries, death was pretty instant."
He agreed Slee was a lucky man. "Looking at the wreckage, there wasn't much room for anyone in there ... He did really well to walk with his ankle, and his other injuries."
The police will now prepare reports for the coroner on O'Reilly's death, and the Civil Aviation Authority will be conducting an investigation into the crash. Two of its investigators were at the scene yesterday to collect evidence and study the site. They will also speak to Slee to try to find the cause.
A memorial shield and scholarship will be established in O'Reilly's name at the flight school to be awarded to the most-improved student pilot each year.
