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The Advertiser
7 days ago
- The Advertiser
Tributes for pilot killed in crash who was two months from retirement
A pilot who died when his plane crashed in the NSW Snowy Mountains last week was always "generous with his time and knowledge" and just two months away from retirement, friends say. Police found David Stephens' body in wreckage in the Snowy Mountains on Friday, July 18, after a multi-day search for a missing plane. The 74-year-old resident of Brogo, north of Bega on the NSW South Coast, went missing while flying from Wangaratta in northeast of Victoria to Moruya on the south coast. Mr Stephens worked for decades as a chartered tax accountant and was only two months away from retirement, and his family said they had been hoping to spend more time with him. On Tuesday, July 15, at 4.35pm, emergency services were notified of a possible plane crash near Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys. The wreckage, and Mr Stephens' body, were found a few days later. In a recent press conference, Riverina Police District Commander, Superintendent Andrew Spliet said the force of the impact of the aircraft was significant. "You wouldn't recognise it as an aeroplane," he said. "There was obviously a fair bit of speed into the mountain range, which has completely destroyed that aircraft, and it wouldn't be a survivable collision." Tony Rettke is a fellow aviator and president of Bega's rural flying club, the Frogs Hollow Flyers. He recounted getting the call from Mr Stephens' wife. "I got a message, and it was from David's wife. She said something like, 'Hi, this is Lynda Leigh. Could you call me back, please?' She sounded upset," Mr Rettke told ACM's Bega District News. "Lynda said, 'I'm just calling to let you know, as the president of the Frogs Hollow Flyers and a friend of David's, he's crashed his plane'." "I had been talking to David a day or two before. He needed to get a couple of emails out for me, and said he would do it at Wangaratta [the airport he left prior to the disappearance]." Mr Rettke sat in his car as thoughts crossed his mind of what may have happened to his friend. "It actually knocked me," he said. "I've been thinking a lot about it. About how David would have felt and what might have happened, and there could be 100 things. [It] could be the aircraft, could be a mistake he's made, could be ... many things." Mr Rettke said it was sobering to think about, as he, too, had flown on numerous occasions across the past month in varied weather conditions. Mr Stephens earned his pilot's licence before he began driving in the 1960s, and was immensely proud of his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair, which he christened "Deb". It was understood that Mr Stephens was a non-instrument-rated pilot, which meant he could only fly when he could see the ground and maintain visual contact with landmarks. "I do that [kind of flight] all the time. It's called 'tiger country' where you can't land without tearing the wings off. Some people go around it. It's the risk you take," Mr Rettke said. "I don't know if his plane was completely destroyed. I think it would have looked like newspaper shredded through the trees, because they are built light. "It's more dangerous to ride a motorbike from here to Canberra, without a doubt. People worry that I swim with sharks, but they're always there." About 4pm, Thursday, July 17, a rescue helicopter found the crashed plane near its last known GPS location. Just before 3pm the next day, NSW police found the body of a man in the wreckage. Mr Rettke remembered his friend as an honest man who served as secretary on the Frogs Hollow Flyers committee, where he was an active member. "I pulled him onto the committee because he was a member, and I could tell he had a lot to contribute to being a wise person and a flyer for many years," Mr Rettke said. "He did his job well and had only been doing it for about six months, and had a major role in a recent fly-in with 25 aircraft coming to camp." Besides being the immensely proud pilot of "Deb", his 1966 Debonair, Mr Stephens had a long history of racing on dirt trails. As well as a Frogs Hollow Flyer, Mr Stephens was a well-known and respected rally sport competitor and a dedicated committee member for various motorsport clubs across the Far South Coast. If he wasn't competing, he volunteered as an official in all capacities for the ACT and NSW rally series, and, in turn, the Australian Rally Championships. Mr Stephens was a very active member of the club and had previously been treasurer and secretary. In 2017, his wife Ms Leigh told Bega District News that Mr Stephens competed on the famous Upper Cobargo and Buckajo Roads since the '70s and often hoped she would get a chance to drive the Bega Rally herself. "David takes his rallying seriously and I was honoured to be asked to be his co-driver - in my first year in the 'silly seat', we won the 2015 NSW Pace note series, which wasn't a bad start," she had said. Current Bega Valley Rally director Ian Slater said he would remember his friend as being kind and generous with his time and knowledge. "He would do anything for you that you asked him," Mr Slater told ACM's Bega District News. "Sometimes he probably didn't agree with you, but we'd nut it out and we'd move on," he said with a chuckle. "He was good for the younger people coming into the sport. "He could mentor them in navigating, although he was a very good driver as well." Mr Slater was watching television when Mr Stephens' wife tried to call him, but unfortunately, he didn't hear his phone ring. "She then rang my wife and said, 'David's gone missing in his plane'. I rang her back and she told me the same thing," Mr Slater recalled. "It was a bit of a shock. I didn't really believe it, and since then we have stayed in contact to find out what's going on. "Having done a bit of flying myself, it's normally not a risky sport. Car rallying is probably more dangerous. "We're doing all right. We ring up Lynda all the time to keep in contact with her. It's pretty tough." A pilot who died when his plane crashed in the NSW Snowy Mountains last week was always "generous with his time and knowledge" and just two months away from retirement, friends say. Police found David Stephens' body in wreckage in the Snowy Mountains on Friday, July 18, after a multi-day search for a missing plane. The 74-year-old resident of Brogo, north of Bega on the NSW South Coast, went missing while flying from Wangaratta in northeast of Victoria to Moruya on the south coast. Mr Stephens worked for decades as a chartered tax accountant and was only two months away from retirement, and his family said they had been hoping to spend more time with him. On Tuesday, July 15, at 4.35pm, emergency services were notified of a possible plane crash near Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys. The wreckage, and Mr Stephens' body, were found a few days later. In a recent press conference, Riverina Police District Commander, Superintendent Andrew Spliet said the force of the impact of the aircraft was significant. "You wouldn't recognise it as an aeroplane," he said. "There was obviously a fair bit of speed into the mountain range, which has completely destroyed that aircraft, and it wouldn't be a survivable collision." Tony Rettke is a fellow aviator and president of Bega's rural flying club, the Frogs Hollow Flyers. He recounted getting the call from Mr Stephens' wife. "I got a message, and it was from David's wife. She said something like, 'Hi, this is Lynda Leigh. Could you call me back, please?' She sounded upset," Mr Rettke told ACM's Bega District News. "Lynda said, 'I'm just calling to let you know, as the president of the Frogs Hollow Flyers and a friend of David's, he's crashed his plane'." "I had been talking to David a day or two before. He needed to get a couple of emails out for me, and said he would do it at Wangaratta [the airport he left prior to the disappearance]." Mr Rettke sat in his car as thoughts crossed his mind of what may have happened to his friend. "It actually knocked me," he said. "I've been thinking a lot about it. About how David would have felt and what might have happened, and there could be 100 things. [It] could be the aircraft, could be a mistake he's made, could be ... many things." Mr Rettke said it was sobering to think about, as he, too, had flown on numerous occasions across the past month in varied weather conditions. Mr Stephens earned his pilot's licence before he began driving in the 1960s, and was immensely proud of his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair, which he christened "Deb". It was understood that Mr Stephens was a non-instrument-rated pilot, which meant he could only fly when he could see the ground and maintain visual contact with landmarks. "I do that [kind of flight] all the time. It's called 'tiger country' where you can't land without tearing the wings off. Some people go around it. It's the risk you take," Mr Rettke said. "I don't know if his plane was completely destroyed. I think it would have looked like newspaper shredded through the trees, because they are built light. "It's more dangerous to ride a motorbike from here to Canberra, without a doubt. People worry that I swim with sharks, but they're always there." About 4pm, Thursday, July 17, a rescue helicopter found the crashed plane near its last known GPS location. Just before 3pm the next day, NSW police found the body of a man in the wreckage. Mr Rettke remembered his friend as an honest man who served as secretary on the Frogs Hollow Flyers committee, where he was an active member. "I pulled him onto the committee because he was a member, and I could tell he had a lot to contribute to being a wise person and a flyer for many years," Mr Rettke said. "He did his job well and had only been doing it for about six months, and had a major role in a recent fly-in with 25 aircraft coming to camp." Besides being the immensely proud pilot of "Deb", his 1966 Debonair, Mr Stephens had a long history of racing on dirt trails. As well as a Frogs Hollow Flyer, Mr Stephens was a well-known and respected rally sport competitor and a dedicated committee member for various motorsport clubs across the Far South Coast. If he wasn't competing, he volunteered as an official in all capacities for the ACT and NSW rally series, and, in turn, the Australian Rally Championships. Mr Stephens was a very active member of the club and had previously been treasurer and secretary. In 2017, his wife Ms Leigh told Bega District News that Mr Stephens competed on the famous Upper Cobargo and Buckajo Roads since the '70s and often hoped she would get a chance to drive the Bega Rally herself. "David takes his rallying seriously and I was honoured to be asked to be his co-driver - in my first year in the 'silly seat', we won the 2015 NSW Pace note series, which wasn't a bad start," she had said. Current Bega Valley Rally director Ian Slater said he would remember his friend as being kind and generous with his time and knowledge. "He would do anything for you that you asked him," Mr Slater told ACM's Bega District News. "Sometimes he probably didn't agree with you, but we'd nut it out and we'd move on," he said with a chuckle. "He was good for the younger people coming into the sport. "He could mentor them in navigating, although he was a very good driver as well." Mr Slater was watching television when Mr Stephens' wife tried to call him, but unfortunately, he didn't hear his phone ring. "She then rang my wife and said, 'David's gone missing in his plane'. I rang her back and she told me the same thing," Mr Slater recalled. "It was a bit of a shock. I didn't really believe it, and since then we have stayed in contact to find out what's going on. "Having done a bit of flying myself, it's normally not a risky sport. Car rallying is probably more dangerous. "We're doing all right. We ring up Lynda all the time to keep in contact with her. It's pretty tough." A pilot who died when his plane crashed in the NSW Snowy Mountains last week was always "generous with his time and knowledge" and just two months away from retirement, friends say. Police found David Stephens' body in wreckage in the Snowy Mountains on Friday, July 18, after a multi-day search for a missing plane. The 74-year-old resident of Brogo, north of Bega on the NSW South Coast, went missing while flying from Wangaratta in northeast of Victoria to Moruya on the south coast. Mr Stephens worked for decades as a chartered tax accountant and was only two months away from retirement, and his family said they had been hoping to spend more time with him. On Tuesday, July 15, at 4.35pm, emergency services were notified of a possible plane crash near Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys. The wreckage, and Mr Stephens' body, were found a few days later. In a recent press conference, Riverina Police District Commander, Superintendent Andrew Spliet said the force of the impact of the aircraft was significant. "You wouldn't recognise it as an aeroplane," he said. "There was obviously a fair bit of speed into the mountain range, which has completely destroyed that aircraft, and it wouldn't be a survivable collision." Tony Rettke is a fellow aviator and president of Bega's rural flying club, the Frogs Hollow Flyers. He recounted getting the call from Mr Stephens' wife. "I got a message, and it was from David's wife. She said something like, 'Hi, this is Lynda Leigh. Could you call me back, please?' She sounded upset," Mr Rettke told ACM's Bega District News. "Lynda said, 'I'm just calling to let you know, as the president of the Frogs Hollow Flyers and a friend of David's, he's crashed his plane'." "I had been talking to David a day or two before. He needed to get a couple of emails out for me, and said he would do it at Wangaratta [the airport he left prior to the disappearance]." Mr Rettke sat in his car as thoughts crossed his mind of what may have happened to his friend. "It actually knocked me," he said. "I've been thinking a lot about it. About how David would have felt and what might have happened, and there could be 100 things. [It] could be the aircraft, could be a mistake he's made, could be ... many things." Mr Rettke said it was sobering to think about, as he, too, had flown on numerous occasions across the past month in varied weather conditions. Mr Stephens earned his pilot's licence before he began driving in the 1960s, and was immensely proud of his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair, which he christened "Deb". It was understood that Mr Stephens was a non-instrument-rated pilot, which meant he could only fly when he could see the ground and maintain visual contact with landmarks. "I do that [kind of flight] all the time. It's called 'tiger country' where you can't land without tearing the wings off. Some people go around it. It's the risk you take," Mr Rettke said. "I don't know if his plane was completely destroyed. I think it would have looked like newspaper shredded through the trees, because they are built light. "It's more dangerous to ride a motorbike from here to Canberra, without a doubt. People worry that I swim with sharks, but they're always there." About 4pm, Thursday, July 17, a rescue helicopter found the crashed plane near its last known GPS location. Just before 3pm the next day, NSW police found the body of a man in the wreckage. Mr Rettke remembered his friend as an honest man who served as secretary on the Frogs Hollow Flyers committee, where he was an active member. "I pulled him onto the committee because he was a member, and I could tell he had a lot to contribute to being a wise person and a flyer for many years," Mr Rettke said. "He did his job well and had only been doing it for about six months, and had a major role in a recent fly-in with 25 aircraft coming to camp." Besides being the immensely proud pilot of "Deb", his 1966 Debonair, Mr Stephens had a long history of racing on dirt trails. As well as a Frogs Hollow Flyer, Mr Stephens was a well-known and respected rally sport competitor and a dedicated committee member for various motorsport clubs across the Far South Coast. If he wasn't competing, he volunteered as an official in all capacities for the ACT and NSW rally series, and, in turn, the Australian Rally Championships. Mr Stephens was a very active member of the club and had previously been treasurer and secretary. In 2017, his wife Ms Leigh told Bega District News that Mr Stephens competed on the famous Upper Cobargo and Buckajo Roads since the '70s and often hoped she would get a chance to drive the Bega Rally herself. "David takes his rallying seriously and I was honoured to be asked to be his co-driver - in my first year in the 'silly seat', we won the 2015 NSW Pace note series, which wasn't a bad start," she had said. Current Bega Valley Rally director Ian Slater said he would remember his friend as being kind and generous with his time and knowledge. "He would do anything for you that you asked him," Mr Slater told ACM's Bega District News. "Sometimes he probably didn't agree with you, but we'd nut it out and we'd move on," he said with a chuckle. "He was good for the younger people coming into the sport. "He could mentor them in navigating, although he was a very good driver as well." Mr Slater was watching television when Mr Stephens' wife tried to call him, but unfortunately, he didn't hear his phone ring. "She then rang my wife and said, 'David's gone missing in his plane'. I rang her back and she told me the same thing," Mr Slater recalled. "It was a bit of a shock. I didn't really believe it, and since then we have stayed in contact to find out what's going on. "Having done a bit of flying myself, it's normally not a risky sport. Car rallying is probably more dangerous. "We're doing all right. We ring up Lynda all the time to keep in contact with her. It's pretty tough." A pilot who died when his plane crashed in the NSW Snowy Mountains last week was always "generous with his time and knowledge" and just two months away from retirement, friends say. Police found David Stephens' body in wreckage in the Snowy Mountains on Friday, July 18, after a multi-day search for a missing plane. The 74-year-old resident of Brogo, north of Bega on the NSW South Coast, went missing while flying from Wangaratta in northeast of Victoria to Moruya on the south coast. Mr Stephens worked for decades as a chartered tax accountant and was only two months away from retirement, and his family said they had been hoping to spend more time with him. On Tuesday, July 15, at 4.35pm, emergency services were notified of a possible plane crash near Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys. The wreckage, and Mr Stephens' body, were found a few days later. In a recent press conference, Riverina Police District Commander, Superintendent Andrew Spliet said the force of the impact of the aircraft was significant. "You wouldn't recognise it as an aeroplane," he said. "There was obviously a fair bit of speed into the mountain range, which has completely destroyed that aircraft, and it wouldn't be a survivable collision." Tony Rettke is a fellow aviator and president of Bega's rural flying club, the Frogs Hollow Flyers. He recounted getting the call from Mr Stephens' wife. "I got a message, and it was from David's wife. She said something like, 'Hi, this is Lynda Leigh. Could you call me back, please?' She sounded upset," Mr Rettke told ACM's Bega District News. "Lynda said, 'I'm just calling to let you know, as the president of the Frogs Hollow Flyers and a friend of David's, he's crashed his plane'." "I had been talking to David a day or two before. He needed to get a couple of emails out for me, and said he would do it at Wangaratta [the airport he left prior to the disappearance]." Mr Rettke sat in his car as thoughts crossed his mind of what may have happened to his friend. "It actually knocked me," he said. "I've been thinking a lot about it. About how David would have felt and what might have happened, and there could be 100 things. [It] could be the aircraft, could be a mistake he's made, could be ... many things." Mr Rettke said it was sobering to think about, as he, too, had flown on numerous occasions across the past month in varied weather conditions. Mr Stephens earned his pilot's licence before he began driving in the 1960s, and was immensely proud of his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair, which he christened "Deb". It was understood that Mr Stephens was a non-instrument-rated pilot, which meant he could only fly when he could see the ground and maintain visual contact with landmarks. "I do that [kind of flight] all the time. It's called 'tiger country' where you can't land without tearing the wings off. Some people go around it. It's the risk you take," Mr Rettke said. "I don't know if his plane was completely destroyed. I think it would have looked like newspaper shredded through the trees, because they are built light. "It's more dangerous to ride a motorbike from here to Canberra, without a doubt. People worry that I swim with sharks, but they're always there." About 4pm, Thursday, July 17, a rescue helicopter found the crashed plane near its last known GPS location. Just before 3pm the next day, NSW police found the body of a man in the wreckage. Mr Rettke remembered his friend as an honest man who served as secretary on the Frogs Hollow Flyers committee, where he was an active member. "I pulled him onto the committee because he was a member, and I could tell he had a lot to contribute to being a wise person and a flyer for many years," Mr Rettke said. "He did his job well and had only been doing it for about six months, and had a major role in a recent fly-in with 25 aircraft coming to camp." Besides being the immensely proud pilot of "Deb", his 1966 Debonair, Mr Stephens had a long history of racing on dirt trails. As well as a Frogs Hollow Flyer, Mr Stephens was a well-known and respected rally sport competitor and a dedicated committee member for various motorsport clubs across the Far South Coast. If he wasn't competing, he volunteered as an official in all capacities for the ACT and NSW rally series, and, in turn, the Australian Rally Championships. Mr Stephens was a very active member of the club and had previously been treasurer and secretary. In 2017, his wife Ms Leigh told Bega District News that Mr Stephens competed on the famous Upper Cobargo and Buckajo Roads since the '70s and often hoped she would get a chance to drive the Bega Rally herself. "David takes his rallying seriously and I was honoured to be asked to be his co-driver - in my first year in the 'silly seat', we won the 2015 NSW Pace note series, which wasn't a bad start," she had said. Current Bega Valley Rally director Ian Slater said he would remember his friend as being kind and generous with his time and knowledge. "He would do anything for you that you asked him," Mr Slater told ACM's Bega District News. "Sometimes he probably didn't agree with you, but we'd nut it out and we'd move on," he said with a chuckle. "He was good for the younger people coming into the sport. "He could mentor them in navigating, although he was a very good driver as well." Mr Slater was watching television when Mr Stephens' wife tried to call him, but unfortunately, he didn't hear his phone ring. "She then rang my wife and said, 'David's gone missing in his plane'. I rang her back and she told me the same thing," Mr Slater recalled. "It was a bit of a shock. I didn't really believe it, and since then we have stayed in contact to find out what's going on. "Having done a bit of flying myself, it's normally not a risky sport. Car rallying is probably more dangerous. "We're doing all right. We ring up Lynda all the time to keep in contact with her. It's pretty tough."
ABC News
17-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Wreckage of missing plane located in Snowy Mountains, no update yet on pilot David Stephens
The wreckage of a plane missing in the New South Wales Snowy Mountains since Tuesday has been located. Bega man David Stephens had his plane inspected before taking off from Wangaratta in Victoria on Tuesday afternoon, headed for Moruya on the NSW south coast. The 74-year-old never arrived at his destination, and an extensive land and air search commenced. About 4pm on Thursday, a rescue helicopter located what is believed to be the wreckage of the plane near its last known GPS location. "NSW Police Force now have carriage of this matter with investigations to continue tomorrow," NSW Police said. Police are yet to provide an update on the pilot, Mr Stephens. The wife of Mr Stephens described him as an experienced flyer and said the situation had been "heartbreaking" for his family. Lynda Leigh, issued a statement to the ABC, saying Mr Stephens was a member of the Frog's Hollow Flyers aero club. "Unfortunately, David disappeared on his flight home on Tuesday after having his aircraft inspected," she said in the statement. "It is known that the mountain weather can turn very quickly, and we can only assume he must have seen a way over the mountain to decide not to turn back to Wangaratta. "David has quite a bit of experience flying that plane, but we can't know what situation he was facing, and we'll only have answers once they locate the plane and with that David." Frog's Hollow Flyers aero club president Tony Rettke said Mr Stephens got his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair plane serviced at Wangaratta. "[It would] only be a minor amount of work, the aircraft was immaculate, an incredibly beautiful aircraft, well maintained," he said. "He must have done everything he needed to do, just with a basic service, probably an oil change, the usual stuff that goes with 100 hours, and he headed off that afternoon." Ms Leigh said Mr Stephens was an accountant and was just two months away from retiring. She said he was also a well-known rally sport commentator on the Sapphire Coast region. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) led the multi-agency search for Mr Stephens and his plane. "The trails are heavily snowed in. It's very rugged terrain and very steep alpine terrain that they're trying to navigate through," AMSA duty manager Dan Gilllis said. The search involving multiple agencies commenced on Tuesday, assisted by NSW Police, NSW SES, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Snowy Hydro.
