Crash plane hacked out of snow and ice

Tuesday, December 14, 2004 5:00

Almost two weeks after a twin-engined aircraft crashed into the summit of Mt Taranaki, killing the two men aboard, the wreckage was removed from the mountain today - with difficulty.

Members of the Egmont Alpine Club spent almost the entire day on the summit, hacking the wreckage out of snow and ice before Eltham helicopter pilot Alan Beck could fly it off the mountain in pieces.

"When I got the guys to the summit at 5.30am, we found that the crashed plane had almost disappeared under new snow and ice. It was a hell of a job getting it out," Mr Beck said.-NZPA.