Light aircraft with two people on board missing

A couple whose light plane went missing yesterday have been found alive by rescuers in Taranaki.

Alan and Anne Warner, of Waitara, were spotted walking in the search area by a rescue helicopter crew.

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said they were winched on board the helicopter and were now en route to Taranaki Base Hospital.

The couple had moderate injuries, and were taken to New Plymouth Hospital, RCCNZ mission coordinator Chris Henshaw said.

The plane wreckage was located this morning, around 8km west of Whangamomona by the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter, Mr Henshaw said.

"Everyone involved in the search is obviously delighted with the outcome," he said.

"It has been an excellent effort in difficult terrain and weather conditions.

"It has been an outstanding effort from Taranaki Rescue Helicopter, the Defence Force, the Phillips Search and Rescue Trust aircraft from Hamilton, and the NZ Police."

Stratford Aero Club president Nick Furmage said it was a fantastic result and the club was really pleased.

He said the club had received amazing support from aero clubs around the country for which they were thankful.

The Warners failed to reach their destination after reporting bad weather en route to Stratford from Whitianga yesterday afternoon on board a Zenith Zodiac CH 601-XL.

Their last radio communication was at 4pm, when they were about 40km north east of Whangamomona in Taranaki, the RCCNZ said.

Search efforts were last night hampered by poor weather and poor visibility, and the search resumed at first light.

Low cloud, rain, and fog continued to hamper search efforts this morning by restricting visibility.

Mr Furmage said the search area was in the region of the Forgotten Highway, or State Highway 43, which he described as "tiger country".

Before the Warners were found, the couple's family had gathered at the aerodrome, where they were coping "as well as can be expected", he said.

Mr Furmage said the family had received "plenty of support" and club members had offered to assist in the search efforts.

The Warners left the Mercury Bay Aero Club at Whitianga about 2.30pm in the single engine aircraft, and by 3.30pm had radioed from Mokau to report poor weather conditions and indicate they were moving inland.

The RCCNZ was advised at around 5.30pm that the aircraft was overdue.

A search was launched, that stretched into the early hours of this morning, and included a fixed wing aircraft from Hamilton, and a Royal New Zealand Air Force NH90 helicopter from Ohakea.

A distress signal beacon was detected from an area of rugged terrain around 4km south of Matau, but the RNZAF chopper could not locate it during a four hour search of the area.

A two-man police search and rescue team also attempted to reach the area on foot, but without success.

Poor weather conditions in the area had made the search challenging, RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Mike Roberts said.

"There is low visibility which makes searching from the air difficult but we are planning to have a helicopter return to the area shortly after dawn, if conditions allow," he said.

"Daylight will also allow us to better assess if conditions will allow a ground search."

RCCNZ spokesman Steve Rendle said a fixed wing aircraft from Hamilton flew over the area today, while the Taranaki rescue helicopter was also at the scene.

The search area consisted of "pretty rugged, hilly terrain", Mr Rendle said.

Mercury Bay Aero Club spokesman Tony Turner described the missing pair as "a lovely couple".

"They've only just, probably in the last couple of months, joined the aero club, so we haven't got to know them very well, but I have met them, a lovely couple.

"We just hope they're still alive."

It's understood the couple owned a bach in the Whitianga area, he said.

The man was safety minded, Mr Turner said, and news of the missing plane had come as a shock to the other club members.

"He asked me a couple of months ago if I'd mind him taking my phone number for when he was coming up here, to find out what the weather was like," Mr Turner said.

"Pretty safety conscious guy. So yes, it comes as a shock when you hear that when you know the guy's a very safety conscious person."

The police had met Mercury Bay Aero Club members last night, Mr Turner said, to gather more information about the couple's flight.

The aircraft was a modern microlight, he said, describing it as "very well built, just like any plane nowadays".

It was "usually very safe", and Mr Turner said he had no concerns about the functioning of the aircraft itself.

It appeared poor weather conditions had caused them trouble, he said.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it was aware the plane was missing, but was not yet involved.

In 2009, the CAA issued an airworthiness notice in relation to the Zenith CH 601 aircraft series, advising operators there had been six in-flight structural break-ups of the Zodiac CH 601-XL aircraft between 2006 and April 2009.

It advised owners to "exercise all possible caution in the operation" of their aircraft, and recommended avoiding flying in severe turbulence, to avoid high speeds and severe manoeuvres, and not to attempt aerobatics.

A second notice in 2014 recommended two modifications to amateur built aircraft.
In May 2008, two people died when a Zenith CH 601-XL crashed shortly after taking off from Wairoa Aerodrome in poor weather conditions.

The pilot and crew member had taken the plane - which had an ongoing problem with lateral trim - following a party. Both were "heavily intoxicated", according to the CAA report.

There are 19 Zenith Zodiac CH 601-XL aircraft registered in New Zealand.

- NZME.