A crew aboard a New Zealand vessel was hoping to catch some fish Thursday morning but instead ended up reeling in a small plane with a dead body inside, the Associated Press reported.
The San Kawhai was in the waters off the Great Barrier Island near Auckland when one of the ship's nets caught a badly damaged plane with a body inside and dragged it to the surface. The crew transported the plane to a bay near the island where a police vessel took it to Auckland.
Police believe the body is that of pilot Daroish Kraidy, who went missing four months ago after his plane took off from Ardmore airfield outside Auckland. The aerobatic biplane, which is less than 20-feet long, most likely came from a kit and was assembled by the 53-year-old pilot at home, police told the AP.
Fishing boats like the San Kawhai use trawl nets that are dragged along the ocean floor to trap fish- or in this case an airplane. Since the plane was underwater, the net was able to haul it to the surface due to buoyancy, the AP reported.
Mike Richards, a spokesman for the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, said the pilot's Arco Sport plane is made with a metal and wood frame and is covered with fabric. Kraidy's plane is the only one the aviation authority has listed as missing, Richards told the AP.
Kraidy's plane disappeared from radar moments after he took off on March 25. Investigators suspected he was either flying at a low altitude or he deliberately switched off the plane's transponder. Two months after Kraidy vanished, his ex-wife told Fairfax Media he was depressed for years and he most likely disappeared on purpose.
Police said a thorough inspection of the wreckage and identification of the body is expected to be carried out on Friday, the AP reported.
