Australian dad hails skydive hero

Investigators say engine failure may have caused the crash

The father of an Australian skydiver who survived a plane crash in the US said her instructor was a "hero" who died while protecting her.

The plane carrying the skydiving group crashed soon after take-off from Sullivan, Missouri on Saturday.

Six people were killed and Melbourne resident Kimberly Dear, 21, was seriously injured in the crash.

She survived because instructor Robert Cook, 22, used his body to protect her from the impact, her father said.

"He's a hero. There's no other way I can describe it," Bill Dear told Australian television from the US.

Mr Cook realised that the plane was about to crash, attached himself to the young Australian using a diving harness and calmly told her what to do.

He would sacrifice anything for anybody else, that was just his nature Father Mark Cook

"He said to her: 'As the plane is about to hit the ground, make sure you're on top of me so that I'll take the force of the impact,'" Mr Dear said.

He used his body to cushion Ms Dear as the plane crashed.

Mr Cook's father, Mark, told Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald that skydiving had been a passion for his son, who had made more than 1,700 jumps.

He called him "a wonderful child". "He would sacrifice anything for anybody else," he said. "That was just his nature."

The two fathers had spoken since the crash, the daily said.

Ms Dear, who had been working at a camp for children with disabilities, is in hospital with injuries to her spine, pelvis and collar bone. A second survivor also suffered serious injuries.

The US National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Officials said on Sunday that engine failure was the apparent cause, the Associated Press news agency reported.