The family of a missing pilot who vanished while flying near the New South Wales Snowy Mountains said he is just months away from retirement.
Bega accountant David Stephens was scheduled to land at Moruya Airport on Tuesday afternoon in his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair after taking off 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.
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.
Police believe the plane may have crashed about 500m off the Dargals Trail in the NSW Snowy Valley.
Frog’s Hollow Flyers president Tony Rettke mentioned that Stephens had communicated with him prior to his departure from Wangaratta, where his aircraft was undergoing maintenance.
“I spoke to David on the day he flew, he said at the time he’d see me in a couple days,” Rettke said.
A multi-agency search involving NSW Police, SES, NSW National Parks and Wildlife and Snowy Hydro crews was launched.
The aerial search resumed today, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed.
“The search, coordinated by AMSA, involves the AMSA Challenger jet, and rescue helicopters from Victoria and the ACT,” a spokesperson for AMSA said.
“Weather conditions are challenging with low cloud and restricted visibility.”
“We call it tiger country, anywhere where it’s difficult to make a forced landing, being in the alps there,” Rettke added.
“We’re all aware of the various risks involved in flying light aircraft. It makes you reflect â David is quite skilled and highly experienced to undertake a flight of that distance.”
AMSA response centre duty manager Dan Gillis said the conditions were making it difficult for land and ground crews to locate the plane.
“They’re doing their best to search the area, but it is a very challenging search due to the terrain and the weather conditions, which are quite hazardous at the moment,” Gillis said.
“The ground crew are having significant challenges with access to the region, the trails are heavily snowed in, it’s very rugged terrain, very steep terrain they are trying to navigate through.”
