Joel Fitzgibbon reveals the moment he received the call about his son's fatal ... trends now
Former Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon has revealed the heartbreaking moment he received a phone call telling him his son had been in a parachuting accident which would later claim his life.
Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon, 33, died on March 6 after an accident at the RAAF Base in Richmond, about 50km north of Sydney.
Jack suffered critical head injuries and was rushed to Westmead Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Mr Fitzgibbon, who held the position of Australia's defence minister from 2007 to 2009, struggled to fight back tears as he candidly spoke about his son's death, saying his heart was 'still breaking'.
In an interview with Sky News host Erin Molan, who was also at times in tears, the father said receiving the call was 'the worst moment of my life'.
He'd first been told about the accident while at a restaurant in Sydney and was trying to stay optimistic his son may pull through.
He then received another call from Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles when he was on his way to Westmead Hospital
'(I was) trying to think the best but when Richard Marles called me about halfway out there (to the hospital), you know, having made those calls myself, I knew that for the minister, to be advised it was very, very serious,' he said.
'I used to be making these calls, never expecting to be receiving one.'
Joel Fitzgibbon (pictured) broke down in tears in a television interview as he spoke of the moment he received the dreaded phone call that his son Jack had been critically injured
Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon (pictured right) died on March 6 while he was performing a routine drill at an RAAF base in Richmond in Sydney's northwest when his parachute failed to open
It is understood Jack's parachute failed to open during a training exercise with the 33-year-old using a knife to try and free himself in order to deploy his reserve chute.
The knife was found at the ends of the qualified parachutist's fingertips after he hit the ground following the
