Two die when plane crashes into mountain crater

Two men died yesterday when their light aircraft crashed into the crater of Mt Taranaki.

The Nelson-based Flight Corporation Piper Seneca was logged as missing at 9.55am when it disappeared off radar at an altitude of 2430m during a flight from New Plymouth to Nelson.

A rescue team found the wreckage of the aircraft in the crater at 7pm and said neither man had survived. The men had not been publicly identified late last night.

Earlier, experienced pilots said they feared the aircraft might have crashed after being dragged into the mountain by severe downdraughts.

By early afternoon seven teams of searchers were on the mountain hunting for the missing Seneca, a six-seater.

A helicopter landed at the Stratford Plateau just before 2.30pm to help but then thick cloud and strong winds made flying impossible.

Most rescue squads were later called off the mountain because of the conditions, but a two-man team continued to the summit and found the wreckage.

When the plane disappeared it was reckoned to be near and east of the summit at an altitude of almost 2500m. A strong westerly wind was blowing at the time, and in aviation circles in Taranaki yesterday there was speculation the pilot might have been caught in downdraughts on the lee of the mountain.

Airways New Zealand communications manager Ken Mitchell said the plane was flying under VFR (visual flight rules) conditions when it disappeared.

- NZPA