An 80-year-old pilot who died after a suspected mid-air collision between his glider and an ultra-light aircraft was a man who "loved soaring", friends say as investigations continue into the crash.
Caboolture man Christopher "Bob" Turner was controlling the glider just before 3pm on Wednesday when the two aircraft came into contact and crashed to the ground at Kybong, near Gympie.
He and fellow pilot Barry Irvine, 77, did not survive.
Their deaths sent waves of sadness across a tight-knit aviation community around the country.
Mr Irvine's family issued a statement on Thursday.
"Barry, a talented musician, lived his life to the fullest and flying was his passion for many decades," the statement reads.
"We extend our sincere condolences to the family of the other pilot involved.
"We would like to acknowledge and express our appreciation to first responders who attended the scene as well as witnesses of the incident and members of the local aero community."
Gliding Australia vice president Lindsay Mitchell said he was shocked to learn of the accident, and said Mr Turner was an experienced glider pilot.
"He's flown for decades, and he'd be like the rest of us with gliders. He'd want to be up there looking at those clouds at the moment," Mr Mitchell said.
"He was a very quiet gentleman, very particular, he'd been chief flying instructor at Caboolture Club for a number of years, he'd been an instructor for a number of years, very thorough, very particular."
Mr Mitchell said Mr Turner had stopped instructing in recent years, and said Wednesday's flight should have been a run-of-the-mill joy flight.
"He would've gone up there, it was good flying conditions, nice clear air, good thermals," he said.
"He would've just gone up there to enjoy himself."
Mr Mitchell said the close-knit gliding community was coming to terms with the loss.
"We're just stunned and coping."
The gliding group's safety manager Drew McKinnie said news of the incident spread quickly, and Sunshine Coast Gliding was a tight-knit club.
"The impact on clubs, families, and friends is massive," he said.
"I have been involved with investigating fatal incidents before.
"It certainly shatters lives, families, and morale.
"My motivation as a safety manager is we have to understand as much as we can about what led to the accident, and what the causes were, so that we can address measures to prevent a recurrence."
Police describe terrible tragedy
Police Inspector Brad Inskip said the two men were in two separate aircraft — a glider, flown by Mr Turner, and an ultralight believed to have been flown by a 77-year-old from Glenwood, north of Brisbane.
Inspector Inskip said the glider was known to have taken off from the nearby gliding club but it was unclear whether the second aircraft did the same.
"There's no doubt about it, this is a tragic incident," he said.
"It's a terrible scene, terrible incident, and terrible for the family and obviously those involved."
Inspector Inskip said the deaths were going to hit the gliding community hard.
"The gliding clubs obviously are very close. This is a small regional gliding club. They all know each other," he said.
He asked anyone with information about the incident to come forward.
'We saw the two aircraft...'
John and Lyndal Kenman heard an "almighty bang" and then watched as the aircraft headed towards the ground.
"I thought, 'That's a bit more than a gunshot'," Ms Kenman said.
"We saw two aircraft spiralling out of the cloud to the ground.
"You immediately know it's not good."
Mr McKinnie said he felt "intense sadness" when word of the deaths reached him in Canberra.
"It's sadness for the families and friends and club members involved," he said.
"It's a sense of deja-vu — unfortunately the sport has inherent risks and many of us know people who have lost their lives doing the things they loved.
"Our feelings are absolutely with family and friends within that aviation community."
He said due to the early stages of the investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment on the crash itself.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau gathered information about the collision, before confirming it would not investigate.
"The ATSB does not investigate accidents and incidents involving most recreational, ultralight and sports aviation aircraft," ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
"The ATSB would only investigate accidents involving sport aviation aircraft that are not registered with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and non-powered glider aircraft, such as those involved in the Kybong accident, on an exception basis, as its resources permit, where conducting such an investigation has the potential to highlight wider safety issues.
"The ATSB empathises with the next of kin who have lost loved ones in this accident and are seeking answers as to how the accident occurred."
The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating the crash.
A report is being prepared for the coroner.
