Light aero"plane" missing in Southern Alps

[planewriting]

Just come up on Stuff is an news item reporting an overdue aircraft     www.stuff.co.nz/national/300654418/light-plane-reported-missing-in-the-southern-alps

[planewriting]

Update just to hand:

www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/472221/searchers-find-downed-plane-near-mt-nicholson-in-the-southern-alps

[FlyingKiwi]

Doesn't sound great. Wouldn't have been the nicest day to cross the Southern Alps today...

[hardyakka]

Last ADSB ping was at about 7700 feet. The tops are mostly about 7 to 8 thousand feet around that area. Not easy country.

[planewriting]

Aug 4, 2022 20:48:50 GMT 12 hardyakka said:

Last ADSB ping was at about 7700 feet. The tops are mostly about 7 to 8 thousand feet around that area. Not easy country.

From that information are you able to tell us the aircraft registration?

[hardyakka]

I’m a bit reluctant to put it in a public place before any official news release as the registration leads directly to an individual private owner.
I’m sure the authorities will make it public at the appropriate point.

[Dave Homewood]

Helicopter rescue crew hovered over crashed plane in Southern Alps
5 Aug, 2022 11:49 AM

NZ Herald
By Hamish Clark

The rescue helicopter crew who flew to the scene of a light plane crash in the Southern Alps believe that crash was "unsurvivable".

Senior pilot Stu Farquhar at Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopters told the NZ Herald that after speaking to the crew "it was obvious from the wreckage site that there were no survivors".

The light plane, with one person onboard, was reported overdue on Thursday at 11am after it took off from Franz Josef at 9am heading for Rangiora.


McCoy Glacier location. Image / Supplied

The Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter located the aircraft, in poor weather conditions, near Mt Nicholson, on snow at McCoy Glacier, on the eastern side of the Southern Alps.

Farquhar said "It was a very broken aircraft".

"The aircraft was whole but in pieces on the ground. They weren't strewn across a large area, it was just all the bits were in one place," he added.


Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Photo / Supplied

Strong northwesterly winds buffered the helicopter as it made its way to the crash scene.

"The weather conditions were such that the snow and cloud looked like a "white out".

The helicopter set down in a sheltered valley and used the track of the aircraft on Flight Radar, the emergency locator, and GPS coordinates, to locate the aircraft.

"They did hover over [the plane] for a period of time to take photos and have a good look at the scene to confirm from the air that it was unlikely to be a survivable accident", said Farquhar.


McCoy Glacier on the estern side of the in the Southern Alps. Photo / Topomap

The Rescue Coordination Centre's attempts to get the Alpine Cliff Rescue team to the site have been put on hold due to deteriorating weather.

An RNZAF NH90 helicopter has been sent to Christchurch to assist with the operation.

RCC said that an attempt will be made to reach the location of the crash when the weather improves.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/helicopter-rescue-crew-hovered-over-crashed-plane-in-southern-alps/PZYREJHR2SHGBVI2MGSS7QPAJA/

[Dave Homewood]

Very sad news to hear there is no sign of life at the crash site. RIP

[FlyingKiwi]

Since the pilot has now been named in the media I think it's probably reasonably beyond speculation to say that the FR24 plot shows a C182 ZK-MGB registered to the named individual disappearing in that location yesterday morning. At the risk of being grim I would think with the rescue helicopters being unable to land at the site and the current weather down there featuring 80kt+ winds and freezing temperatures on the mountain tops even a survivable crash probably wouldn't have produced a good outcome, unfortunately.

[Dave Homewood]

'Absolute tragedy': Tributes flow for West Coast community hero

Saturday, 6 August 2022

Tributes have been flowing for a well-known Franz Josef man killed in a light plane crash on Thursday.
Tim Gibb was travelling alone from Franz Josef to Rangiora near Christchurch but never arrived.

A search found his aircraft had crashed near Mount Nicholson in the Southern Alps but weather conditions have prevented helicopters landing at the site.

Gibb was a long-term Franz Josef resident and business owner.

He is survived by his wife Vanessa and adult daughters Olivia and Sarah.

Family friends have set up a Givealittle page to help the family and to fund getting Sarah home from overseas. By early afternoon today it had raised more than $24,000.

Sarah has been travelling and was in Croatia when her father died.

"Many of you are probably coming to terms with the devastating news that, tragically, yesterday Tim Gibb was killed in a plane crash," his mate wrote on the fundraising page.

"This is devastating news and a great loss to our very close-knit community. Tim Gibb was known to many."

Gibb was a deputy fire chief in Franz Josef, dedicating almost two decades to the Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

"He was also the Civil Defence officer for Franz," said the friend.

"Tim gave all of his time to everyone and anyone to ensure they always come first.

"Covid has been tough for this family who operate a small business - Across Country Quad Bikes.

"We are reaching out to the community for your support to help with immediate expenses to bring Sarah home from Croatia to support Vanessa and Olivia so they can grieve together as a family."

Stuff reports that Gibb achieved some renown when he brought in equipment to ferry cars and people across the Waiho River when the bridge was washed away in 2019.

He ferried up to 30 cars and 100 people a day across the river using a 38-tonne dump truck.

Those who knew Gibb and his family have been paying tribute on social media.

"Words cannot describe the absolute tragedy of this accident, and what a huge hole in the Gibb family and Franz Josef and surrounding areas that Tim has left," wrote Jamie Norton.

"I don't think a single person on the West Coast, perhaps even the South Island ... doesn't know or hasn't heard of Tim Gibb.

"Someone who you could always count on if you needed something, no matter the time of day or night, who would lend a hand, offer a meal or do a patch-up job to get you moving."

Norton was "heartbroken" for Gibb's wife and daughters.

"Wish I could somehow take the pain away but unfortunately that just isn't possible."

Franz Josef Glacier School also posted.

"Tim not only is an ex-student of our little school but we also had the pleasure of teaching Sarah and Olivia," said a spokesperson.

He and Vanessa have done a lot for us over the years and Tim recently spent the afternoon with us, showing our kids all the cool things in the fire truck.

"You will be missed our friend."

NZ Herald

www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-national/absolute-tragedy-tributes-flow-west-coast-community-hero?