By Gaby Leslie | Yahoo! News – 14 hours ago
A pilot who saved the lives of passengers on board a Goodyear airship has tragically died after it caught fire and crashed into a field.
Michael Nerandzic is said to have evacuated three passengers moments before the blimp shot up into the air and burst into flames before crashing down into an airfield in Germany.
The 53-year-old pilot, originally from Australia, told the man and two women to jump from the ‘The Spirit of Safety’ aircraft as it hovered two metres above the ground at the aerodrome in Reichelsheim, near Friedburg.
Unfortunately the pilot - who has been hailed a ‘hero’ - couldn’t escape the blast in time and died in the burning wreckage.
Michael Nerandzic is said to have evacuated three passengers moments before the blimp shot up into the air and burst into flames before crashing down into an airfield in Germany.
The 53-year-old pilot, originally from Australia, told the man and two women to jump from the ‘The Spirit of Safety’ aircraft as it hovered two metres above the ground at the aerodrome in Reichelsheim, near Friedburg.
Unfortunately the pilot - who has been hailed a ‘hero’ - couldn’t escape the blast in time and died in the burning wreckage.
Speaking with Yahoo! News today, a spokeswoman from America tyre supplier Goodyear confirmed the incident, saying that one member of the flight crew suffered fatal injuries, but there were no injuries to any passengers or ground crew.
The spokeswoman added that German aviation and local authorities have started their investigation into the causes of the crash.
According to reports, the three auto industry journalists were taking a promotional flight on the airship as they returned from a local music festival on Sunday evening.
Witnesses have claimed that they smelt fuel and heard a loud whirring noise before the blimp exploded.
The pilot’s wife, Lyndy Nerandzic, is quoted by ABC Sydney as saying: “When there was trouble on the airship he brought it down to as low as he could to let the passengers jump out and he stayed at the controls.”
“As soon as they jumped out, of course, being an airship, he knew it would rise up and it did. They found him still at the controls when it crashed.”
Goodyear added: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the crew member and the passengers on the flight.”
The blimp’s owners said that Mr Nerandzic was one of the world's most experienced airship pilots with 18,000 hours of experience piloting airships over 26 years.
A second airship was also withdrawn from the flight schedule until further notice.
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