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| Body found in Snowy Mountains plane crash wreckage is pilot David Stephens, police believe | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| The 74-year-old Bega man was flying from Wangaratta in Victoria to Moruya in NSW when his plane vanished on Tuesday afternoon | The 74-year-old Bega man was flying from Wangaratta in Victoria to Moruya in NSW when his plane vanished on Tuesday afternoon |
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| The body of a man has been located in wreckage in the Snowy Mountains on Friday, after a multi-day police search for a plane that went missing earlier this week. | |
| While police are yet to formally identify the body, they said in a statement that they believe it is that of the pilot, 74-year-old Bega man David Stephens, who has been missing since Tuesday afternoon and was last seen at Wangaratta in Victoria when his plane was inspected before takeoff. | |
| New South Wales police remained at the crash site and it was expected the body would be removed from the site later this afternoon. | |
| A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner. | |
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| Police said earlier on Friday that a pilot could not have survived after his light plane crashed into a remote region of the Snowy Mountains earlier this week. | |
| NSW police started an air and land search for Stephens when he did not arrive at his destination of Moruya airport on the NSW south coast. The downed plane was spotted near Dargals Trail east of Khancoban on Thursday afternoon. | NSW police started an air and land search for Stephens when he did not arrive at his destination of Moruya airport on the NSW south coast. The downed plane was spotted near Dargals Trail east of Khancoban on Thursday afternoon. |
| A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson said Stephens was flying a single-engine 1966 Beechcraft Debonair 35-C33. | A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesperson said Stephens was flying a single-engine 1966 Beechcraft Debonair 35-C33. |
| NSW Supt Andrew Spliet said on Friday the aircraft had been completely destroyed and would not be recognised as an aeroplane. | NSW Supt Andrew Spliet said on Friday the aircraft had been completely destroyed and would not be recognised as an aeroplane. |
| “There’s quite a bit of wreckage from the impact,” he told reporters. “It’s fairly clear that it wouldn’t be survivable. | “There’s quite a bit of wreckage from the impact,” he told reporters. “It’s fairly clear that it wouldn’t be survivable. |
| “Today, a recovery operation is under way where we’ve got investigators as well as crime scene [officers] attending that scene to clarify the cause of the collision and also see if we can identify the pilot.” | “Today, a recovery operation is under way where we’ve got investigators as well as crime scene [officers] attending that scene to clarify the cause of the collision and also see if we can identify the pilot.” |
| Spliet said a helicopter had been to the crash site and would be winching down crime scene officers and local investigators. | Spliet said a helicopter had been to the crash site and would be winching down crime scene officers and local investigators. |
| The terrain where the plane was found was “very steep” and surrounded by “a lot of snow”, Spliet said. Police needed a number of air assets for investigators to reach the site. | The terrain where the plane was found was “very steep” and surrounded by “a lot of snow”, Spliet said. Police needed a number of air assets for investigators to reach the site. |
| A police spokesperson said earlier on Friday a “recovery operation” would start at about midday to “retrieve and examine” the plane. | A police spokesperson said earlier on Friday a “recovery operation” would start at about midday to “retrieve and examine” the plane. |
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| “The recovery operation will involve officers from Riverina police district, PolAir, Police Rescue, and the criminal investigation and crime scene unit,” the spokesperson said. | “The recovery operation will involve officers from Riverina police district, PolAir, Police Rescue, and the criminal investigation and crime scene unit,” the spokesperson said. |
| The initial search for the crash site included the police alpine operations unit, the NSW and Victorian ambulance services, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, state emergency services and Snowy Hydro. | The initial search for the crash site included the police alpine operations unit, the NSW and Victorian ambulance services, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, state emergency services and Snowy Hydro. |
| An Australian Maritime Safety Authority Challenger rescue jet and two helicopters conducted the overhead search. | An Australian Maritime Safety Authority Challenger rescue jet and two helicopters conducted the overhead search. |
| A spokesperson for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it had started an investigation into the crash. | A spokesperson for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said it had started an investigation into the crash. |
| “Investigators are working closely with the NSW police to gather available evidence, including imagery of the accident site and any aircraft components containing recorded data that can be retrieved and recovered to the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra for download and analysis,” the spokesperson said. | “Investigators are working closely with the NSW police to gather available evidence, including imagery of the accident site and any aircraft components containing recorded data that can be retrieved and recovered to the ATSB’s technical facilities in Canberra for download and analysis,” the spokesperson said. |
| “The investigation’s findings will be contained in a final report to be released at the conclusion of the investigation. That report will also detail the ATSB’s analysis of the evidence to support those findings.” | “The investigation’s findings will be contained in a final report to be released at the conclusion of the investigation. That report will also detail the ATSB’s analysis of the evidence to support those findings.” |