TUESDAY JANUARY 31 2017
LARAPINTA DRIVE DOUBLE FATALITY
lost in fatal crash
High praise, mourning for Marcia from aviation community
Andrea Johnston
THE aviation community of
Alice Springs has paid tribute
to an unassuming aviator,
who clocked up more than
10,000 hours in the air.
Marcia Hremeviuc was a
commercial pilot in both fixed-
wing aircraft and helicopters.
She held an aerobatic rating,
carried out cattle mustering,
parachute dropping, dingo
baiting, fire spotting and trans-
porting fish, to name a few ac-
tivities.
V1 - CAVE01Z01MA
RIGHT: Marcia Hremeviuc was Australias
first female helicopter instructor, and was
passionate about flying in all forms,
especially in Central Australia.
Picture: KEN SMITH
It is called work I think,
Ms Hremeviuc wrote in an ar-
ticle for the magazine Air-
news, the publication of the
Australian Women Pilots As-
sociation, of which she was a
long-term member.
Being given a pet helicop-
ter and going out to chase cat-
tle; or horses, birds, graders
whatever, Ms Hremeviuc
continued in her 1983 article,
her passion for aviation so
clearly captured in her opening
words Absolutely fantabulis-
tic!
Marcia Hremeviuc enjoyed the outback life, living on the isolated
Bond Springs Airstrip, north of Alice Springs.
She never spoke about her Ms Hremeviuc in October
amazing aviation exploits,
however she was very good at
writing about them, said
friend and fellow AWPA
member Neva Cavenagh.
I think I can speak on be-
half of our members in describ-
ing Marcia as a shy,
unassuming person, who was
most comfortable around aer-
oplanes and people involved in
aviation, Ms Cavenagh said.
Ms Cavenagh spoke of her
good fortune at having an op-
portunity to spend time with
to fix it there and then. The
2016, at a reunion of female pi-
lots in Central Australia.
Ms Hremeviuc attended
functions at the Central Aus-
tralian Aviation Museum and
the Alice Springs Aero Club.
Fellow pilot and friend Jim
Thomas, the museums vice
president, said Ms Hremeviuc
was a private person, but an ex-
ceptional pilot.
She was extremely cap-
able, Mr Thomas said.
If you ever had a problem
with your plane, shed be able
Picture: KEN SMITH
66-year-old lived on Bond
Springs Airstrip; home to a
number of aviation operations,
including Alice Springs Glid-
ing Club.
Gliding Club president Ed-
ward Connellan said Ms
Hremeviuc was a real avi-
ator.
Marcia provided excellent
support to the gliding club, Mr
Connellan said.
As a neighbour, she looked
out for us, often driving past
with a friendly wave,
NEWS 05
Tributes
flow in for
quiet
achiever
Marcia
The following tribute
was written by Ken Smith
from the Seventh-day
Adventist Church of Alice
Springs:
I have known Marcia as a
personal friend and church
member for more than 10
years.
She always seemed to
have a smile on her face for
as long as I have known her,
regardless of the situation,
whether it was good or bad.
She was a kind and
considerate person to all
people.
I would class her as a
quiet achiever who went
around helping people
whatever their needs, even
sponsoring a child in the
Philippines in his schooling.
Marcia will be sorely
missed in our church, as she
has held several different
positions over the years and
was always ready to lend a
hand.
She left no next of kin
and classed the church and
its members as her family.
If you ever
had a problem
with your
plane, shed be
able to fix it
then and
there
JIM THOMAS