A pilot involved in a crash at the Avalon International Airshow in Victoria on Friday remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.
The pilot, Glenn Collins from Paul Bennet Airshows, based in the Hunter region in NSW, crashed the aircraft while performing in a four-plane stunt demonstration about 5:15pm on Friday.
Mr Collins, aged in his 50s, was the sole occupant of the plane, known as a Pitts Special aerobatic aircraft.
According to a biography on the Paul Bennet Airshows website, Mr Collins is an seasoned pilot with more than 2,700 hours flying experience.
Paul Bennet Airshows said Mr Collins was "one of our long-time Sky Aces pilots."
"The pilot is in a serious but stable condition and has been transferred to hospital for treatment," Paul Bennet Airshows said in a statement.
"Our team and families appreciate the well-wishes and support."
The plane that crashed was one of four aircraft involved in an aerobatic display at the airshow when the accident occurred.
On Saturday morning, the stunt flying company said it would not be performing at the remainder of the airshow but hoped the public would continue to enjoy the event.
"The Bennet family and the Paul Bennet Airshows team are thinking of Glenn Collins, who remains in hospital, and his family at this time."
Crash witnessed by hundreds of spectators
Shaun Lenehan was in the crowd at the airshow when the crash happened a few hundred metres in front of spectators.
"Everyone stopped straight away and they rolled the fire trucks out and they kind of put a pause on everything straight away," he said.
"It looked like it could have been a fatal crash by the way it had hit the ground and disintegrated. He was pulling out of a dive so he was going quite fast."
Another spectator, Andrew Pearce, said the plane hit the ground as it was coming out of a loop.
"He didn't just nosedive, he kind of hit his belly,"
he said.
"The cockpit was intact where he was but the wings were ... I don't know if they were detached from the plane, but they were crumpled in front of the plane."
Safety bureau says investigation will take months
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said investigators had almost finished examining the crash site and would now continue their investigation of the plane wreckage in a hangar.
He said investigators would look into what pilots were tasked to do for the flight display, the approvals processes leading up to it, the plane's maintenance history and the pilot's history.
A number of recording devices have been recovered from the plane as well as mobile phone footage from the public.
"That is all very important for us in recreating what's occurred here," Mr Mitchell told reporters on Saturday.
"I suspect it will be a number of months before we have anything to say regarding what occurred yesterday and, most importantly, is there anything else that we can work with in the industry to make sure that occurrences like this are lessened."
He encouraged anyone else with footage of the crash to submit it to the ATSB.
Event resumes morning after crash
The Avalon airshow reopened at 8am on Saturday, with flying restarting from 12:30pm.
Avalon Australian International Airshow CEO Justin Giddings said airshow attendees who were forced to leave the event early on Friday because of the crash would be offered general admission tickets for Sunday.
Earlier, he confirmed the pilot was the only person hurt in the incident.
"The incident occurred well away from the crowds in attendance and no member of the public was injured," he said.
He commended first responders at the scene for reacting "really, really quickly" after the crash.
"Fortunately [Glenn Collins] survived and thoughts are with his family and friends and teammates at this really difficult time," Mr Giddings said.