New South Wales police say a pilot couldn’t have survived after his light plane crashed into a remote region of the Snowy Mountains earlier this week.
The pilot, 74-year-old Bega man David Stephens, had been missing since Tuesday afternoon. Stephens was last seen at Wangaratta in Victoria when his plane was inspected before takeoff.
NSW police commenced 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.
NSW police’s Supt Andrew Spliet said on Friday the plane had been completely destroyed.
“There’s quite a bit of wreckage from the impact,” he told reporters. “It’s fairly clear that it wouldn’t be survivable.”
A police spokesperson earlier on Friday said a “recovery operation” would commence about midday to “retrieve and examine” the plane after it was located in the Snowy Valleys.
“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.
An Australian Maritime Safety Authority Challenger rescue jet and two helicopters conducted the overhead search.