Operation to recover pilot’s body suspended

An operation to recover the body of pilot Tim Gibb has been unsuccessful due to ‘‘environmental factors’’. Gibb’s light plane crashed in the Southern Alps at a height of about 2000 metres on August 4 and an attempt to retrieve his body was carried out by police, the Department of Conservation and the Aoraki Mt Cook alpine rescue team yesterday. ‘‘Unfortunately, due to environmental factors, a recovery was not possible,’’ said a police spokesperson. ‘‘A further attempt will be made once snow and ice conditions allow.’’ Gibb’s light plane crashed near Mt Nicholson after he left Franz Josef about 9am, destined for Rangiora, North Canterbury. No-one else was in the plane. Gibb was a well-known figure on the West Coast, doing volunteer firefighting and civil defence work. He famously brought in equipment to ferry cars and people across the Waiho River when the bridge was washed away in 2019. He ferried up to 30 cars and 100 people a day across the river using a 38-tonne dump truck.