Camden plane crash: Haunting video emerges of boy pilot, 16, who died alone as his identity is revealed and his school is hit by back-to-back tragedies
Boy, 16, killed in plane crashHe was a talented Year 12 studentDeath is school's second in just weeks
EXCLUSIVE
A student pilot tragically killed on his first solo flight was a talented musician and school captain who was due to graduate from Year 12 this year.
Chkye Tracz, 16, was training for his recreational pilot’s license when he took off in a Cessna 172 from Camden airport, in Sydney’s south-west, at 3.05pm on Wednesday.
He had been approved by instructors to fly a 6km loop without supervision.
But half way through the route, as he reached an altitude of 1500 feet, Chkye encountered trouble as he lost contact with air traffic control.
Moments later, the plane rapidly descended and crashed into the ground in a paddock in Brownlow Hill, killing him instantly.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Chkye was a talented student at Chevalier College, in Burradoo in NSW’s Southern Highlands, who hailed from an aviation family.
He was an avid bugle player who, over the past several years, performed at the school’s ANZAC and Remembrance day ceremonies with renditions of ‘The Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’.
Chkye Tracz, 16, (pictured) died in a light plane crash near Camden on Wednesday
Emergency services were called to Brownlow Hill Loop Rd at 3.15pm to respond to a plane crash (pictured)
Footage posted online shows veterans decked out in army badges holding their hats in their hands as Chkye sounded the brass instrument to mark the end of the commemorative silence during the Bowral ANZAC ceremony last year.
Chkye also excelled in academics and represented the school in various scholastic contests, including being dubbed a winner at the John Fahey Public Speaking Competition and Da Vinci Decathlon in 2022.
He was also a semi-finalist in the NSW Law Society’s Mock Trial Team Competition last year and was voted an academia school captain for 2024.
Aviation was in Chkye’s blood and, like his forefathers, he dreamed of being a pilot.
His paternal grandfather Gerald Tracz, who passed away aged 79 in 2019, was a chief warrant officer for the Canadian Armed Forces, who also tutored students at the air cadets corp.
Chkye’s father Rob grew up moving to different cities across Canada to support his dad’s employment in the air force.
Rob, a chef and self-described ‘aviation nut’ who also holds a pilot’s licence, moved to Australia in his early 20s while travelling the world before settling in Berrima, in the Southern Highlands, in the late 1990s.
There, he met Chkye’s mother Nedene while he was working in a restaurant, before the couple settled down and had two sons.
Chkye Tracz (pictured) was a Year 12 school captain for academics
He was also a talented bugler, who played at ANZAC and Remembrance Day ceremonies
Speaking to Southern Highland News in 2009, Mr Tracz said his love of flying saw him marry his wife in the sky.
‘We were married while flying over Berrima village in a Douglas DC3,’ he said.
‘I’m an aviation nut and DC3s are my other passion so it seemed right to me that we should be married while flying in one.’
The family’s love for planes was also expressed through making model aircrafts
Rob frequently shares photos of his designs in an online community dedicated to making plane figurines – a hobby he shared with Chkye.
The Year 12 students death has left the school in mourning from back-to-back tragedies after Chyke’s fellow schoolmate Violet Chanter, 16, died from an asthma attack earlier this month.
The aviation enthusiast reached an altitude of 1500 feet at 3.07pm, and contact with the Cessna was lost less than a minute later
Chevalier College said the two deaths has left their community ‘compounded by grief’.
‘This is an incredibly challenging time, as we come to terms with the pain of losing two bright young souls,’ the school said in an online statement on Thursday.
‘The grief that enveloped our community with the loss of Violet Chanter is now compounded by the departure of Chkye.’
The school opened on Thursday to allow students and staff to ‘be with each other in grief’ as the community come to terms with the tragedies.
Chkye had only joined AltoCap Flight School in Camden one month ago.
In Australia, civil aviation laws require all aspiring pilots to be at least 15-years-old to fly solo and need to be 16 to obtain their first recreational licence.
The school announced the tragic news in a statement on Instagram
Violet Chanter, who also attended Chevalier College, died earlier this month from an asthma attack
At the age of 17, students may apply for a private pilot licence.
In the wake of the accident, AltoCap Flight School has grounded its fleet as both Australian Transport Safety Bureau officers and police investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The ATSB said it would deploy a team of transport safety investigators from its Canberra and Brisbane offices, specialising in aeronautical engineering, aircraft maintenance and operations, as part of the probe.
‘Investigators will conduct a range of evidence-gathering activities on site, including site mapping, wreckage examination, and recovery of any aircraft components for further examination at the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra,’ it said.
‘Investigators will also seek to interview any witnesses and involved parties, and collect relevant recorded information including flight tracking data, as well as pilot and aircraft maintenance records, and weather information.’