14 Dec 2016

Investigators prepare to remove plane wreckage

7:07 pm on 14 December 2016

Air crash investigators are preparing to remove the wreckage of a top-dressing plane that crashed, killing two people.

Pilot George Anderson was killed in a plane crash near Wairoa.

Pilot George Anderson was one of two people killed in the crash. Photo: Supplied / LinkedIn

The light plane crashed into high voltage power lines near Wairoa on Monday.

Farmers Air pilot George Anderson and a loader who had not yet been publicly named were both killed.

Their bodies were recovered yesterday.

The Civil Aviation Authority said the wreckage of the plane was in inhospitable terrain and was burnt out as a result of the crash.

A spokesperson said the investigators planned to have the wreckage airlifted tomorrow and taken to a secure storage in Gisborne for close examination.

Power was cut to about 40,000 people in Gisborne for more than a day, as a result of the crash.

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