Homebuilt Plane Bound For Germany Disappears Over NB

Canadian search and rescue crews haven't given up hope they'll find a German pilot and a recently purchased Vari-Viggen, N106VV, after both went missing over New Brunswick Sunday.

The Canadian Press reports the two-seat homebuilt plane -- described by one official from from the Joint Rescue Coordination Center as "a unique-looking aircraft" -- disappeared as it headed from Maine to a fuel stop in Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. The pilot, Matthias Pallasch, was to head across the Atlantic the next day, en route to delivering the aircraft to its owner in Germany.

The last radar pickup from the aircraft (pictured below) occurred over Plaster Rock, NB. A search did not get underway until Wednesday, after the plane's owner reported he hadn't heard from the pilot.

Search and Rescue teams dispatched an Aurora aircraft, a Griffon helicopter, a C-130 Hercules and a Cormorant helicopter to canvas a wide search area, ranging from central New Brunswick, over the Gaspe Peninsula and inland through northern Quebec and Labrador. Civilian planes are also helping in the search.

Major John Van Oosten says no distress signals were received from the aircraft, and that apart from low cloud cover over the Maine-New Brunswick border, weather conditions were optimal when the plane disappeared.

Aero-News continues to follow this story, and will report further as more information becomes available.

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