The family and friends of pioneering young Australian pilot Bob Bramley are mourning a remarkable life cut tragically short after the 23-year-old’s aircraft crashed in remote waters off the Northern Territory.

The Tasmanian pilot, who captured national attention as a teenager when he flew solo around Australia to raise awareness of youth suicide, is believed to have died after the small charter aircraft he was flying went down in the Gulf of Carpentaria on Tuesday.

Northern Territory Police said aircraft debris had been located during the search, but difficult weather and the extreme remoteness of the crash site have hampered efforts to recover Mr Bramley.

His body has not been found, but police have said they believe he died in the crash.

For those who knew the adventurous young pilot, the news has brought overwhelming grief.

“Our beloved Bob is gone,” his family said in a statement. “Bob was a beacon of hope for our family, friends and community. We cannot comprehend this great loss in our lives.

“We are shocked, we are heartbroken, but we remember the ideals Bob championed.

“We celebrate a life lived to the fullest. There will never be another Bob Bramley.”

It is a sentiment that seems particularly fitting for a young man who had already packed an extraordinary amount into his 23 years.

Bob’s passion for flying began early, but so too did his determination to use that passion to help others.

At just 16, after two close friends survived suicide attempts, the Tasmanian schoolboy became an advocate for youth suicide prevention.

While still a teenager, he hatched an audacious plan to become the youngest person to fly solo around Australia.

His history teacher and mentor Lesley Jolly recalled the moment a “skinny kid with the big grin” excitedly summoned her to the back of the classroom and showed her a map.

“I’m going to fly around Australia solo,” he told her.

There was just one fairly significant obstacle.

“I said, ‘Oh cool, problem – you haven’t got a pilot’s licence’,” Ms Jolly recalled.

That did little to deter him. In 2019, Bob completed an extraordinary 15,000km journey around Australia, stopping at 40 locations along the way.

Although another young Queensland pilot ultimately claimed the age record Bob had been chasing, his journey became about something far more important.

Under the banner Surviving Turbulence, Bob used the flight to raise awareness of youth suicide and generated more than $20,000 for Beyond Blue through donations and sponsorships.

His achievement and advocacy later earned him a nomination for Young Australian of the Year in 2021, while his story was also featured on ABC’s Australian Story.

Devonport Aero Club president Terry Travers said Bob’s experience offered a lesson that went well beyond aviation. “The important thing is the records fall, fame is fleeting, but the difference you make in someone’s life will last their lifetime,” he said.

“The thing that he would give to people was that they could achieve things and I think that message went through to young people.”

Bob also left an enduring mark on the Scouting movement. He developed Tasmania’s first aviation training program for Scouts and became the youngest person ever appointed Tasmanian State Coordinator for Scout Air Activities.

Scouts Tasmania deputy chief commissioner Murat Djakic said Bob “gave more to Scouting than Scouting gave to him”.

But through all his achievements, one passion remained constant: flying.

For the past year Bob had been working for a charter company in the Northern Territory, turning the childhood obsession that had once sent him racing into a classroom with a map into his career.

Ms Jolly remembered how thrilled he had been when he called to tell her he had secured the job. “He was just so excited about that,” she said. “He just loved flying.”

The aircraft Bob was piloting reportedly crashed in waters near Isle Woodah, off the coast of Groote Eylandt, while undertaking a repositioning flight from Gove to Numbulwar.

He was believed to be the only person aboard.

Search and rescue crews have continued working in difficult conditions, with police divers involved in efforts to search the sea floor.

For Bob’s family, friends and the many people touched by his advocacy, however, his legacy extends far beyond the search now taking place in those remote waters.

He was a teenager who decided he wanted to fly around an entire continent before he even had a pilot’s licence, then found a way to do it.

More importantly, he turned that dream into an opportunity to tell struggling young Australians that their lives mattered.

As his family said in their heartbreaking farewell, Bob was a “courageous individual” who refused to allow fear, problems or pessimists to stop him chasing his goals.

He was just 23. But he had already spent years showing others how much could be done with a life lived without fear.

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