Revealed: Colombian crash plane's 'superhero' captain's father was ALSO a pilot who died in a plane crash when he was just one year old

The 'superhero' pilot of the Colombian plane crash lost his father in an air disaster, it was revealed today. 

Miguel 'Micky' Quiroga, 54, was flying the Bolivian Lamia plane when it crashed in Colombia, killing 71 people early this morning - including all but three of the Chapecoense football team.

As it became clear the flight would end in disaster as the CP-2933 plane began to suffer catastrophic electrical problems, Micky reportedly dumped

the plane's remaining fuel, so it would not explode on impact.

It's believed his quick-thinking is the reason six people survived the tragedy. 

Today, it has emerged that Micky's father, Orlando Quiroga, was also a pilot who died in a crash in 1963, aged 53.  

Orlando died in a crash in Caranavi when Micky was just one year old.

His huge love of football resulted in him having a stadium in the tiny Bolivian named after him - the Estadio Olimpico Orlando Quiroga.

Micky grew up desperate to walk in the footsteps of his father and despite not knowing him - he revealed Orlando was his inspiration.

In an interview last year, he said: 'After that, my mother, Ilse Menacho, returned to Cochabamba and years later married another pilot, Abraham Prada, who worked at Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) and then founded his own company aircraft cargo.

'We have grown between aircraft.

'My older brother, Edgar, is a pilot, flies in Amaszonas. I'm a pilot, my nephew is a pilot, my son, too - we are a family of pilots. 

'Why? I imagine there are things that are genetic, which transmit you a taste for flying and the other is the example, you see a kind of life that you like and why you want it for you.'

Micky's cousin, Milena Quiroga, remembered how he studied obsessively to be a pilot like his late father. 

She said: 'His father suffered an accident when Miguel was still a baby, but he always wanted to following this career.

'He went in to the air force so he could become a pilot, and become a commercial pilot, so he could have better quality of life. 

'I kept in touch with him through social networks because he never stopped, he worked a lot. 

'My cousin loved aviation and divided his time between Cobija and Epitaciolandia. He was a person who was happy and professionally fulfilled.'

That the experienced Micky thought of saving the lives of others in what he would have known were the last moments of his own life seems extraordinary for many around the world following the tragic events unfold.

But for those who knew him, the act of heroism was nothing out of ordinary for Micky, for whom putting others first was a natural instinct.

And in the remote Brazilian town where Micky and his wife Daniela Pinto were building their lives, the Bolivian pilot was held in high esteem because of his tirelss efforts to make life better for those around him.

Married to the daughter of an ex-Brazilian senator, Roger Pinto, the couple, who had three children, had been constructing a home in Epitaciolandia, on the border with Bolivia in the northern Brazilian state of Acre.

According to reports, the couple often used their status and connections to push for investment in the town, while the pilot had used his own money to fund improvements.

Micky's cousin Kris Quiroga, an architect, summed up the good feeling towards him in post on a local news website: 'Today I woke up with the worst news of my life. 

'Today I lost my cousin.. my brother.. and my prince of my 15th birthday party.. my super hero!

'A good person, with a beautiful family, full of stories, marvelous experiences and I was his fan!

'Today you went to be with your father, Uncle Eduardo and your brother, who must be very proud of you and who are welcoming you with open arms.

'Here we will miss you and will keep the memories of all the moments that we spent together, and the certainty that you did everything possible to save everyone who was on that plane.'