Tears as bush pilot farewelled in emotional Lae gathering

By EREBIRI ZURENUOC
Tears were shed at the farewell of North Coast Aviation pilot David Tong on Friday at Glenrowan funeral home at 14-Mile outside Lae.
The emotional gathering was led by senior colleagues and attended by NCA staff members and their families. Tong’s girlfriend, Bernadette Nares, was there too.
“It was a tragedy,” said NCA flight operations manager Geoff Thiele.
“We’ve just lost a guy who was filled with laughter and smiles and there are no words for it.”
Lynn Maera, the company’s long-time administration officer, described Tong as a “son”.
“He is family to us,” she said.
“As a small company, everyone is closely knit, and when he came he became a part of us.
“He really loved to work here in Morobe because it is where he met his girlfriend.”
Tong, 34, from Melbourne, Australia, died after his Britten Norman Islander aircraft crashed east of Dinangat, in Kabwum, on the morning of Dec 23.
His body was retrieved from the crash site three days later.
His body was taken to Port Moresby on Friday after the service and flown to Australia on Saturday morning. He will be buried at his home town of Geraldton near Melbourne.