Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) investigators have spent Monday at the remote scene of a weekend plane crash.
Two young Auckland pilots died when the light aircraft they were flying crashed on Saturday.
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Pete Callagher and Zakir Parkar were keen and skilled pilots, and their deaths are being described as a tragic loss.
Their families are paying tribute to the men on Facebook, with one man's aunt posting "we will miss you all the days of our lives".
They were both flying instructors at the Ardmore Flying School in South Auckland.
They'd been on a flight from Palmerston North to Ardmore on Saturday when their plane came down in the Kaimanawa Ranges, south of Taupo.
They'd been flying a Diamond DA42 Twin Star aeroplane, on a regular flight to gain flying hours towards a higher qualification. The wreckage was located yesterday in steep terrain in the Kaimanawa Ranges.
Today three TAIC investigators have spent the day at the site. Police have recovered their bodies, but the cause of the crash is not yet known.
In a statement, the flying school said their heartfelt sympathy and thoughts go out to the pilots' families, partners and friends.
Newshub.
