The Waikato father of a helicopter pilot killed while battling a blaze on the New South Wales south coast has described his son as a good lad who was always helpful and loved flying.
Sydney Helicopters pilot Allan Tull died when his aircraft crashed west of Ulladulla on Friday afternoon while waterbombing a fire near Mount Kingiman, which has burned through 1700 hectares.
It appears the chopper had been filling its bucket when disaster struck.
In Putaruru, Allan's father Jim Tull told 1 NEWS Allan worked on a family farm for a while, "and that's where he learned the helicopter business, and he carried on from there and trained".
He had three decades of flying experience.
"He loved flying. He just loved flying helicopters."
Allan had been flying helicopters in Australia for years, returning to New Zealand for rest periods and working on building a house with his fiancé in Tauranga.
Allan's death has left his fiancée and his two siblings Sharon and Robyn in shock.
"They're all pretty sad. Robyn's really hurt. That's the youngest one. She rang up last night, she found out and rang me and let me know and she was in tears," Mr Tull said.
He said Allan was a hard worker worked and loved sport.
"A good lad, always helpful. Didn't see much of him lately 'cause he's always been overseas flying somewhere or other.
"We played pool together and won a pool tournament down here at Putaruru together, and different things. We use to get around a bit in the early days. But of course when they grow up they sort of leave home."
“A good guy, a good pilot and a good set of skills
Friend Roger Stevenson first met Allan in 1989.
The pair fought fires together in Australia ands Mr Stevenson roger says his mate was one of the best.
"The great thing about Allan is his flying did the talking for him. That was the great thing about him. So when you knew about Tully you knew you were going to get a good guy, a good pilot and a good set of skills."
Allan Tull was described as "an amazing guy" by a colleague at Sydney Helicopters, where he worked.
"It's a massive shock ... we are absolutely devastated with the loss," the employee told AAP.
As colleagues came to terms with their loss, firefighters were battling dozens of fires across NSW.
The Rural Fire Service confirmed the Bemboka fire on the south coast burned down three homes and four outbuildings in the Bega Valley, while 11 outbuildings were lost in the Mount Kingiman blaze.
One home was confirmed damaged in the North Nowra blaze, which also destroyed an outbuilding.
Those five major fires were still out of control on Friday evening.
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