A FAMILY watched in shock as a plane, which later crashed into Lake Hume, came within 10 metres of their boat and swooped close to a toe line being pulled by another vessel.
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Ashleigh-Maree Righetti, 18, was in a boat with her mother and father and two young cousins when the ultralight started buzzing them on the lake near Bowna about 3.15pm on Monday.
Click play to see a motion slideshow of some of the 'buzzing'.
“My dad was driving and he turned around with a shocked expression on his face and the plane was right behind the boat,” Miss Righetti said.
“It was swooping in near to us and then it would go away.
“It was probably only about 10 metres from us, it was right above the boat and right next to us.
“At one stage my dad and little niece, who is six, were in the water and he thought the plane was going to crash and he moved her away to the other side of the boat.”
Shocked by what she saw, Miss Righetti snapped some photographs on her iPhone and took a picture of the plane hovering over a toe rope being used by another boat to pull a knee-boarder.
Her mother Ann-Maree Righetti was appalled by that behaviour.
“When it got that dangerous I thought he’s being an idiot because if that was my kid on the back of the boat I would have something to say,” Mrs Righetti said.
Husband and father Mark Righetti, who is a boat repairer and has used the lake for 30 years, believed the pilot’s erratic flying ensured a crash was likely.
“We’ve been boaters for a long period of time and we were merrily on our way to a spot where we go wakeboarding,” Mr Righetti said.
“The next thing we heard was a noise behind us and saw the plane was right behind us, buzzing us.
“It scared everyone in the boat, there was no pretending it shocked the whole lot of us.
“I could see there was a crash coming there, it was inevitable whether it was then or half an hour later.
“He was flying so low to the water it was inevitable it would crash.”
The Righettis learnt a short time later via a Facebook post that the plane had splashed down in the lake near Ludlows Reserve, around 20km south of Bowna, about 3.30pm.
Mr Righetti said the ultralight came close enough to his boat for the pilot’s face to be visible and he thought the aviator knew he was being a nuisance.
“Every action he made was an action that was deliberate and an action he had organised,” Mr Righetti said.
“There was no issue with the plane giving trouble, the engine sounded healthy.”
