Wiping away tears, tragic pilot Andrew Buck's sister admits her "heart is breaking" for her little brother.
Mr Buck, from Seaham, died in a French Alps plane crash along with 18-year-old Lewis Stubbs, who went to school in Gateshead .
As French authorities probe Wednesday's crash, Andrew's sister Lisa Crowe has spoken of her devastation, and also her pride of her "brave" sibling.
"All he ever wanted to do was fly," the 39-year-old said.
"When he eventually got his aircraft licence he was beside himself.
"He would save his money, book in air time and go and fly. He died doing what he loved."
Describing Mr Buck, 37, as a "free spirit", his sister claims the former Seaham Comprehensive pupil lived a full life - often to benefit others.
Heavy metal fan Mr Buck ran a business in Florida, got a degree from Sunderland University and loved Download Festival so much, he already had his tickets to go next summer.
He also helped transport life-saving organs by air.
"If his friends called him in the middle of the night and needed a ride, he'd get straight out of bed and do it," added his sister.
"That's just the sort of person that he was."
Northumberland firm Purple Aviation, which owned the EV-97 Eurostar plane, said the crash was a "tragic accident".
The plane was part of a group of aircraft which had travelled from an airfield in Northumberland on Sunday and were heading for Malta.
One of those reportedly made an emergency landing before the North East pair crashed moments later.
While an official investigation continues, Mrs Crowe also believes there was no plane-on-plane crash.
"Contrary to what the papers are saying, the planes were half a miles apart," she said, having spoke to someone on the trip.
She believes her brother turned to aid the stricken plane but "misjudged the distance".
"He did a really brave thing as a pilot, he turned around to do something brave," she said.
"And he would have died instantly.
"He wouldn't have even had time to realise something was wrong.
"If anything that is something to take away - a little bit of peace.
"We just feel bad for the person (in the other crashed plane) who survived, knowing their friend turned around to help them and they didn't survive."
Mrs Crowe has now launched a fundraising page to cover the cost of bringing her brother back to the North East - and closer to his family.
Their dad, she says, is the only one working and is currently in no fit state to go back after the tragedy.
And Mrs Crowe set the page up after hearing the crushing news thousands of miles from home.
She was camping in the Canadian wilderness when she received the dreaded call.
Mrs Crowe said she still feels "numb" after losing the brother she last saw at her wedding in 2015.
"We had a typical older sister and younger brother relationship," she said.
"I was allowed to pick on him and nobody else was."
Mrs Crowe also remembers how as a teenager, he was only allowed a motorbike if he built it himself - so he did.
"He was a complete free spirit. He said he never wanted to get held down by anyone and that girlfriends were too expensive," she joked.
But while she remembers the good times, she also has to explain to her children what has happened to their fun-loving uncle.
Mrs Crowe said: "My heart is breaking."
