A body believed to be that of a missing pilot has been located in the wreckage of a plane in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains.
A rescue helicopter located the plane near Khancoban at about 4pm yesterday.
Just before 3pm today police located the body of a man near the crash site.
The body is yet to be formally identified but police believe it is that of Bega man David Stephens.
AFP Search and Rescue joined the effort to find the pilot. (Supplied: ACT Police )
His plane was inspected before taking off from Wangaratta in Victoria on Tuesday afternoon.
The 74-year-old did not arrive at Moruya and an extensive land and air search began.
Earlier today Riverina Police District Commander Superintendent Andrew Spliet said the crash was not “survivable”.
“You wouldn’t recognise [the wreckage] it as an airplane … a fair bit of speed into the mountain range there, which has completely destroyed that aircraft,” he said.
“It wouldn’t be a survivable collision.
“There is quite a bit of wreckage from that impact.”
Police remain at the crash site and it is expected the body will be removed from the site tonight.
In a statement, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said investigators were working closely with NSW Police to gather evidence, including images of the site and aircraft components containing data.
Superintendent Spliet said the weather conditions at the time of the crash were “not ideal”.
An update on the investigation is expected in two months.