Wreckage Found By Woodsmen

Men working in the woods about 10 miles east of Plaster Rock, NB, Canada discovered airplane wreckage and the body of Matthias Pallasch late Friday afternoon.

As ANN reported Friday, Pallasch was piloting a VariViggen for its new owner from the US to Germany. The last radar plots showed the aircraft near Plaster Rock and search teams have been looking since the plane's owner reported Pallasch overdue last week.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported that Pallasch had died at the scene as a result of injuries.

Pallasch, 38, was the only person aboard the aircraft when it went down. He left Bangor, ME last Sunday bound for refueling stops in Newfoundland and Labrador. He was to continue to Germany the following day.

The VariViggen is an experimental aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It's a two-seat canard with a rear-mounted, pusher engine. (Pallasch had mounted a ferry fuel tank in the rear seat position in preparation for the trip overseas.)

One of Rutan's earliest designs, he used the prototype for his personal airplane before donating it to the EAA Airventure Museum in Oshkosh, WI.

No cause for the accident is known at this time. Ground crews made their way to the crash site Saturday to begin an investigation.

FMI: http://www.jrcchalifax.forces.gc.ca/JRCC_home_E.htm