Plane spreading water on Australian bushfire crashes - starts another big fire

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A 43-year-old father piloting a water bombing plane over burning bushland in Australia died today when the aircraft crashed after reportedly losing a wing.

The pilot was named as David Black, from the small town of Trangie in western New South Wales.

The crash sparked a new bushfire, its intensity and smoke so severe that specialists were unable to be lowered from helicopters to recover the Mr Black's body.

He was the owner of Rebel Agriculture, which was contracted to help the rural fire service fight blazes south of Sydney.

Superintendent Cassart told a press conference that winds and fire had made it 'far too dangerous' to send anyone down on a winch to bring up Mr Black's body.

One of the big challenges in regards to that task was the winds in the area at that time,' he said.

Mr Black was flying an M-18 Dromader single-engined agricultural aircraft that can be adapted for fire-fighting purposes.

Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, who lost his own father in a bushfire, fought back tears as he paid tribute to the pilot, whose plane came down in bushland near the town of Ulladulla, south of Sydney.