Searchers have recovered the body of a pilot killed after his light plane crashed in thick bush near New Plymouth.
Ben Israel Gaastra's Cessna crashed on Tuesday night about 40km west of Te Kuiti.
The plane's emergency locator beacon was set off about 7.30pm on Tuesday and searchers were able to fix his location to within 1km of the crash.
Mr Gaastra, 28, who was flying between Auckland and New Plymouth, had made a scheduled radio call about 40 minutes earlier.
Bad weather and rough terrain meant even night vision equipment was unable to spot the wreckage.
An Air Force Iroquois located the wreckage at 10am on Wednesday and searchers found the body nearby about 30 minutes later.
Civil Aviation Authority investigators are travelling to the site and Mr Gaastra's death has been referred to the coroner.
New Plymouth Aero Club says Mr Gaastra was a local resident with a commercial pilots' licence.
