Grim catch as New Zealand fishing trawler hauls plane and body of pilot

The trawler San Kawhai was fishing near Great Barrier Island, off the coast of the North Island, when the crew made the gruesome discovery.

WELLINGTON // The crew of a New Zealand fishing trawler netted a gruesome catch Thursday when they hauled up a plane with a body inside, police said.

The trawler San Kawhai was fishing near Great Barrier Island, off the coast of the North Island, when the crew made the grim find.

“Fishermen on board have reported that a body is in the wreckage of the plane which is being transported to a bay near the island,” police said.

Police said they were contacting the family of Auckland pilot Daroish Kraidy, 53, who went missing in March this year while flying his aerobatic biplane in the area.

Kraidy’s wife Judy said she hoped the remains were those of her husband, so she could have them cremated and scattered in his favourite spot.

“I’m in shock with relief,” she told Fairfax Media. “I always said that if he was ever found it would be by accident.”

* Agence France-Presse