Rescue crews have found the suspected wreckage of a missing plane, which vanished while flying near the NSW Snowy Mountains this week.
Bega accountant David Stephens was expected to arrive at Moruya Airport in his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair on Tuesday afternoon after departing from Wangaratta in Victoria.
The alarm was raised when he didn’t land.
His plane’s last known location was over Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains.
Police believe the plane may have crashed about 500 metres off the Dargals Trail.
Searches resumed today, but rugged terrain, snow and weather conditions made the situation difficult for rescue crews from both NSW and Victoria.
NSW Police confirmed tonight that a rescue helicopter had found “what is believed to be the crashed plane near the plane’s last known GPS location”.
Police have taken charge of the investigation, which will resume tomorrow.
The experienced pilot’s family said Stephens has been flying since the 1960s.
“David loved to fly. He earned his pilot’s licence even before his driver’s licence in the 1960s,” the family said.
“He must have seen a way over the mountains and decided not to turn back
“He was only two months out from retiring and his family was looking forward to spending time with him.”
“Hazardous” weather hampered a land and ground search for Stephens and his plane today.
Frog’s Hollow Flyers president Tony Rettke said Stephens had been in contact with him before he departed Wangaratta, where his aircraft was being serviced.
“I spoke to David on the day he flew, he said at the time he’d see me in a couple days,” he said.
But the terrain makes it difficult to make a forced landing.
”We’re all aware of the different possibilities flying light aircraft, just makes you think – David is very capable and very experienced to be flying the length he did,” Rettke said.
